


A Mother's Duty

by MiladyDragon



Series: Dragon-Verse: Future Adventures [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Angst, Dragons, Family, Jack's Mother - Freeform, Mental Instability, Multi, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-09 06:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10406301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: Samara Wells got one of her sons back.  It's time to try and get the other back as well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second story in the "Samara Wells Trilogy". It deals with some issues that might be distressing to some, especially mental health issues concerning Jack's brother, Gray. I'm not a trained therapist, so anything in here that might not work in the real world...well, it's all on me.

 

**_15 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

Samara quite liked Gliese City.

This was only the second time she’d been there, but it had impressed her easily; not that that was difficult, as she was from a colony world that wasn’t up to cosmopolitan standards as yet.  Gliese City wasn’t that large, only taking up about fifty square miles out of the entirety of the planet, but it was where anyone who lived and worked on Hubworld could be found. 

Tall buildings stretched up into the red sky, the almost-lurid light of the planet’s primary glittering against the glass. Brass-coloured clouds scudded overhead, and Samara could have sworn they were rainclouds from their shape; she’d long ago learned to read the weather.  It had been necessary on Maker’s World, where storms could come up from the sea quickly, and it didn’t do to get trapped out on the open ocean when that happened.

Still, it wasn’t raining as Samara crossed the Harkness Plass that led toward Torchwood Tower, the tallest building in Gliese City.  The crowds were bustling through the open plaza, of all races and genders, some of them Samara not recognising right off.  This was another reason Gliese City impressed her: the sheer number of different peoples that could be seen at any given time, all of them either working for or having family members that worked for Torchwood.

Of course, she’d heard of Torchwood back on Maker’s World, but what she’d been told had seemed like a lot of baseless rumours, and even what she’d been able to research herself had seemed far-fetched.  It wasn’t until Jack and Ianto had brought her here the first time that Samara realised just how large the organisation was…just what it was her son and his mate had built.  Torchwood was the power at the very foundation of the Empire; it was what made certain the various races of the wide-flung Human Empire and their allies could work together.  It also policed the time lines, since the Time Agency had been disbanded – not that Samara was ever going to miss it, after they’d lied to her about her son – and it helped those that were victims of the Rifts that were sprinkled all over the Universe. 

It had seemed like an impossible task to Samara, and yet it had been her son – her wonderful, immortal son – who’d managed to accomplish this thing.  She couldn’t have been more proud.

She’d taken the transmat from Ddraig Llyn.  The receiving station was situated on one corner of the Plass, diagonal from the entrance to the Tower, and according to her son it had always been there even though the transmat system was only used for quick trips and emergencies, and by locals who wanted to get from the outskirts to work in the various offices in the area.  Nearly every other visitor came through the spaceport or through the orbital platform that acted as a third moon for Hubworld.  She knew for a fact that her granddaughter, Anwyn, kept her ship, the _Serpent’s Tooth,_ at the ground-based port when she was on-world, in its own docking bay.

At the present time, though, Anwyn was on Earth; Samara knew that because she’d just seen her this morning at breakfast.

No one back home – and it was home, even though she hadn’t lived there for very long – even knew that Samara had come.  She knew Jack would have tried to talk her out of it if he knew her purpose in coming to Hubworld.  Ianto would have sided with her, though, and the last thing she really wanted to do was cause any form of strife between her son and his mate.  She loved them both too much to have this become a bone of contention.

The front doors of Torchwood Tower were glass and gleamed invitingly in the sunlight as Samara approached, sliding open as soon as she got close enough for the sensors to read her presence.  The lobby of the tower was several storeys, piercing up into the upper floors; the moment the doors had shut the light within the building polarised so that the redness was gone, leaving it compatible for the majority of the eyes that worked within.  Samara blinked for a second to clear her vision of the faint, reddish tinged spots, even as she kept heading toward the reception desk where an Earth Reptile – also known as the horribly misnamed Silurians – sat, a comm looped over one head ridge so that it pressed up against the tiny hole that was the being’s ear.

“Welcome to Torchwood,” the Earth Reptile greeted, his third eye blinking even as the primary pair smiled at her. 

“I’d like to see Director Coulson please,” she requested, returning the smile.  “Can you let him know that Dr Samara Wells would like a moment of his time?”

The receptionist touched the comm on his head.  “Bratsk, could you please inform the Director that Dr Samara Wells would like to see him?”

Samara knew that it was addressing Phillip’s personal assistant, Bratsk.  She’d met the Zygon on her first visit to Hubworld, and had thought she could like hir if they ever had the chance to really talk.  Bratsk was efficient, and could pull off being friendly while getting a person to do exactly what hir wanted them to do.  The Zygon managed to handle Phillip’s schedule with the aplomb of someone who was well aware that they were working for one of the most important people in the Empire and yet made it look disgustingly easy.

There was a moment’s pause in conversation, and then the Earth Reptile was nodding.  “Yes, I’ll send her right up.”  He disconnected the comm and blinked up at Samara.  “The Director is free and will see you now, Dr Wells.”  He looked impressed, and Samara had to guess it was very unusual to have someone just walk up, ask to speak to the Director of the Institute, and be let in without an appointment with little wait time.  That made sense, considering that Phillip would be a very busy man.

Still, she wasn’t just anyone; she was the Director’s Grandmother-by-mating, and Samara figured that earned her a little consideration.  Not that the Earth Reptile knew that, of course.

The receptionist told her where the Director Level lift was, and Samara thanked him before heading across the foyer in the direction she was given.  When she found it, all Samara could do was stare at the keypad that was at chest level on the wall, and she sighed as she realised she didn’t have the codes to open the lift, let alone get it to go up to where she needed it to.

Samara sighed again.  Of course there was a code.  She could recall Jack inputting the numbers into the pad on the one time previous that she’d visited.  She hadn’t paid any attention to it at the time, and now she was wishing she’d looked over her son’s shoulder and memorised it. 

Just as she was thinking she needed to go back to the reception desk and ask for someone to come and get her so she could avoid the curious eyes that were staring at her as she stood there, helpless to Torchwood’s security, the double doors hissed open.

The inside of the lift was empty, but Samara didn’t hesitate.  She stepped inside, and the doors slid shut.  There was a small, quiet slide as the car began to move upward.  Pleasant-sounding music was piped into the car, but she managed to ignore it.

Samara took a deep breath.  To tell the truth, she was a bit nervous about what was going to happen next.  She’d thought about this ever since she’d come to stay on Earth, with her family, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Still, she didn’t think Phillip would turn her down.  If from what she’d heard was true – and she didn’t have any reason to doubt – what she was about to ask had been one of the motivations behind Phillip’s participation in the plan to bring her to Earth, and back into her son’s life.  It was why she believed Ianto would back her on this, and why Phillip wouldn’t have any issue with acceding to her request…unless there was something going on that she wasn’t aware of.  And she was certain that Phillip would tell her if there was.

There was still Jack to consider.  Of course she knew the story; Ianto had told her about it during their trip from Maker’s World.  It had been just one more thing that played into Jack’s guilt, and despite Samara doing her utmost to convince him that nothing was his fault, that he’d been a child himself and should never have been given such responsibility, she knew Jack still didn’t quite believe it.  He might never. 

Still, that didn’t mean she’d ever stop trying to convince him, even if it took her last breath.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

**_15 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

 

The lift car came to a halt, and the doors slid open.  Beyond was the Director Level of the Torchwood Tower, with its open floor plan and the desks where the majority of the command staff and their assistants worked.  No one even looked at her as she made her way toward Phillip’s office, and Samara conversely felt her nerves grow.  Intellectually she was aware that she had nothing to worry about, but there was still that niggling doubt that just wouldn’t go away.

Bratsk was sitting at the desk in front of Phillip’s closed door.  Today, the shape-shifter was wearing the form of a young human woman, with wavy dark hair and dark eyes.  Samara would have put the shape at somewhere in the mid-twenties, wearing a snappy trouser-suit with odd-looking gauntlets on each arm.

“Doctor Wells,” the Zygon said, smiling.  “Welcome to Torchwood once more.”

“Thank you, Bratsk,” she returned the greeting.  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything…”

Bratsk rolled hir human eyes fondly.  “If you count paperwork as _anything_ …”

Samara couldn’t help but laugh.  She had yet to meet the person who actually enjoyed paperwork, and it seemed as if her grandson-by-mating wasn’t the exception. 

“Please go on in,” Bratsk invited, “and I’ll have coffee brought in shortly.”

“That sounds wonderful.”  Samara had already had one cup that morning courtesy of Ianto, and she knew that whatever Bratsk made wouldn’t add up, but caffeine was always welcome. 

She stepped around the desk, and the door opened on its own.  It made Samara wonder if no one knew how to turn a doorknob anymore, but she didn’t say anything out loud.  Instead, she made her way into the Director’s office, her eyes curious at her surroundings.

Yes, she’d been in the Tower before, but this was her first time in the Director’s office.  The furnishings were a warm wood, and they shared the space with a high-tech holographic table that sat against one of the walls near the door.  The shelves not only had old-fashioned books on them, but also knick-knacks from what had to have been from various time zones.  She didn’t recognise any of them, but then she wasn’t that much into Earth history.

Phillip had, of course, lived through all the ages that were displayed on those shelves which was how she was sure that each and every one of those items and books was a genuine antique.

The large desk was of a wood and polymer blend, with a computer that had been built within it.  It sat in front of large floor to ceiling windows that showcased the city beyond, and the light that streamed in from that window was polarised to human eye norms. 

Phillip stood from his seat and came around the desk, smiling in welcome.  “This is a pleasant surprise,” he said as he held out his hand to her.

Not to be outdone, Samara forwent the hand clasp and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  This wasn’t the first time she’d noticed that Phillip was just a bit chillier than human baseline, but she’d been told that was because of his innate ice magic.  The black uniform tunic he was wearing was soft against her cheek and she couldn’t help but notice the subtle pheromones he exuded. 

He hesitated for a moment, and then was returning the hug.  Phillip didn’t hold on for long, but then Samara hadn’t expected him to.  “Please, have a seat,” he ushered her toward the comfortable looking guest chair in front of the desk.  He then returned to his own seat, curiosity written across his usually placid features.  “What brings you to Hubworld?”

Samara looked at her grandson shrewdly.  “I think you already know.”

Phillip nodded.  “Gray.”

This might be easier than she’d thought.  Phillip wasn’t an idiot; after all, Samara was there alone, and unannounced.  There could only be one reason for her to do that.

“I admit,” he went on, “I was hoping you’d come to me about this.  I know how Jack feels about his brother…”

Samara nodded.  “I couldn’t bring this to him.”

“I understand completely.  And I will help in whatever way I can.”

“Can you…” she swallowed, her nerves coming back.  “I know the story of what happened, but I was wondering if you had any more details.”

“Probably not as much as you would think,” he admitted.  “I wasn’t as close to Jack and Ianto then as I am now.”  He leaned back in his chair, meeting her eyes over his steepled fingers.  “And I admit that I went back and had to refresh my memories of events…they weren’t as clear as they might have been.”

Ianto had explained that humans weren’t meant to be immortal, and had a tendency to forget things that occurred far into the past.  Her dragon son had confided in her that he did help Jack at times to recall things, and she was ever so grateful to him for that.  She assumed that Clint aided Phillip with that as well.

“I do know that Gray was responsible for a lot of damage to Old Cardiff,” he said.  “I also know that he buried Jack under the city for almost two thousand years, and if it hadn’t been for the Great Dragons chances are he might have come out of that insane.”

It made Samara’s heart ache for both of her sons.  Gray had been taken and tortured and driven mad, and had blamed Jack for it all.  To be honest, Samara had as well, until she’d seem the error of her ways and had realised that it had actually been Franklin’s fault, in that he’d left one child in the protection of another who wasn’t ready for that sort of responsibility.  Jack – Jamys – had been set up for failure, even though Franklin hadn’t meant for that to happen.

She wasn’t even aware that she’d begun crying until Phillip was up and around the desk, offering her his handkerchief.  Samara thanked him then wiped her eyes as he took his seat once more. 

“I can’t even understand how hard this must be for you,” he told her, “even though I’ve had my fair share of betrayals.”

Samara was grateful that he wasn’t even trying to give her any sort of platitude.  “From what you do know, what do you think are his chances at recovery?”

Phillip sighed.  “There are so many more different means of treatment than there were back when this first happened, but I couldn’t honestly say.  I think it’s worth a try, if for any reason other than you and Jack both need some sort of resolution.  It might have happened a long time ago for him, but I’m positive that this is one memory that hasn’t faded with time.”

He was correct, of course.  Something like this – a beloved brother, one that you thought you’d failed, coming back and trying to get revenge – had made its mark on Jack’s psyche.  It was evident in Jack’s reticence to even talk about Gray when the opportunity came up; he either ignored it or changed the subject.

“There’s something else we need to consider.”  Phillip leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk and lacing his fingers together, his eyes meeting Samara’s.  To be honest there was something about his gaze that made her a little uncomfortable, and she wasn’t certain if it was the tinge of magic in them, or the seriousness.  “Gray’s been in cryo-suspension for over three thousand years.  I’ve made a study of the technology used to freeze him, and there are…issues with it.”

Samara’s heart began to hammer in her chest.  “What do you mean?” She was a little afraid to ask.

“Torchwood realised early on that it would be best to awaken the preserved once a year, to make certain the process wasn’t doing any damage.”  He looked as if he really didn’t want to say what he was about to, but Samara knew him well enough by now that Phillip Coulson didn’t like to leave anything unsaid…even the bad things.  He needed to lay out ever possibility before deciding on a course of action.  “With Gray, Jack decided that that just wasn’t possible, not with Gray’s mental instability.  He couldn’t risk him getting loose again and doing anything even worse than he already had.”

“So you’re saying Gray might not…wake up?”  Samara didn’t want to think about that, but she needed to.  Anything could go wrong, and she had to prepared.

“That…or worse.  The cryo-freeze might have done more damage than what he had going into it.  He…might not be able to be saved, when it comes down to it.”

“I have to try,” she said determinedly.  “He’s my son, and I have to do everything I can for him.”

Phillip smiled.  “I thought you might say that.”

She huffed fondly.  “Of course you did.”

He gave her a soft smile.  “There are some preparations that need to be made before we can bring Gray out of cryo-freeze.  Perhaps you’d want to come back tomorrow?”

A part of Samara wanted to wait right there.  She didn’t want to leave, to risk missing something important. 

But she also knew that Phillip was talking sense.  If certain things needed to be done before they could attempt to awaken Gray, and those things took time, her hanging about on Hubworld wouldn’t change those.  Plus, she trusted Phillip to let her know immediately if something went wrong with the procedure.  He wouldn’t hide it from her.

Besides, she’d left Ddraig Llyn without telling anyone where she was going.  Jack would worry, as would Ianto and the little ones.  Samara couldn’t just stay away.  The babies needed her.  They’d accepted her so quickly, and she’d seen first-hand in the months she’d been living there just how fragile they could be.  No, she couldn’t stay away without explanation.

And so, she nodded, getting to her feet.  Phillip was around the desk once more, even before she’d straightened, and he was touching her shoulder gently.  She could feel the chill of his fingers through the fabric of her blouse, and vaguely thought that her grandson-by-mating needed gloves, and that she had some black yarn that would do admirably…

“Let me walk you back to the transmat,” he offered.

Samara was grateful to him, but she shook her head in denial.  “You’re probably very busy…”

“I am,” Phillip agreed, “but even the Director of Torchwood needs a break every now and then.”

“You’d let your paperwork build up for me?” Samara teased, suddenly loving this immortal man fiercely.  He was likely going to be the most dangerous man she’d ever meet, but he was also one of the most caring.  It was a dichotomy she knew she’d never be able to understand.

Phillip smiled, the natural coldness of his blue eyes lighting up.  “I’m quite sure Bratsk will leave it all for me for when I get back.”

“I’m sure hir will.”  Samara smiled, glad beyond words that her grandson had chosen Phillip to be his mate.

The ice mage held out his arm to her gallantly, and Samara looped her own through, leaning into his side and accepting the support he was offering.   Together, the pair of them left the office, walking past Bratsk who didn’t say anything…but hir human lips were smiling.

And, if anyone stared at their stern Director escorting her through the building and looking pleased with himself, Samara paid them no mind.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

**_15 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Ddraig Llyn_ **

****

The tingle of the transport subsided, leaving Samara on the small pad that had been installed under the stairs in her son’s home.  She sighed, wondering if anyone had noticed that she was gone…

And she got her answer the moment she opened the door.

Ianto was in the hallway, leaning against the wall, and he smiled when he saw her exiting the transmat station.  He was dressed casually, and of all things his feet were bare; one of the things Samara had noticed about her son-by-mating was that the dragon always took off his shoes when he was in the house, and encouraged others to do the same.  It was the reason there was a shoe rack just outside the transmat terminal, and Samara slipped hers off and placed them beside a pair of Jack’s sturdy work boots.

When she’d asked him about it, Ianto had simply shrugged and claimed that the tradition dated back to when the ancient Roman Empire had ruled this land, and something about sandals and getting things dusty.  Samara wasn’t an historian, but it made a certain amount of sense.

“How did it go?” Ianto asked as soon as she was done with her shoes.

Samara couldn’t help but chuckle.  “I should have known you’d figure it out.”

Ianto rolled his eyes.  “I was actually expecting you to go and see Phillip sooner.”

“I wanted to get settled in first,” she explained as the two of them left the transmat cubicle and made their way out into the house’s large lounge.  She didn’t see anyone around, and she looked at Ianto askance, curious to know where everyone was.

“Jack has the children out by the lake,” the dragon answered.  “James and William wanted to go for a flight, and we still like to make sure they aren’t alone when they do.  Not that I don’t trust them, of course…it’s just that things happen, and I know Jack wanted to keep an eye on them.”

Quite possibly the hardest thing Samara had found accepting was that her son had somehow gained the ability to change into a dragon himself.  Ianto had explained that it was a magical form, and that Jack couldn’t change outside of the valley, but it still had been a shock to her that magic could actually accomplish such a feat.  It was still taking her a bit of getting used to.

“Does he know?” she asked.

“Where you went?” Ianto shook his head.  “I told him that you were off visiting, but I didn’t say with whom.  Although I don’t think it would be a good idea to hide it from him.”

“I’m just worried about how he’s going to react.  Phillip says there’s a chance that Gray might not even wake up…” That was hard, knowing that her baby boy might have been more damaged by being frozen than he already was, but she was glad that Phillip had been honest with her.  “Phillip explained that he really should have been awakened once a year…”

“Yes, but we couldn’t take the risk.  Gray is highly unstable…and Jack, well…he still feels guilty for everything, and he just didn’t want something to happen and Gray escape from Torchwood.  There was no telling what he might have done.”

Samara could understand.  What had happened to Gray…it had been horrific, and it would have killed a lesser person.  Instead, he’d survived but had been so damaged by events that he hadn’t been acting rationally.  She knew it had only made sense for Jack to do what he’d done, and she would tell him that herself.  She didn’t want him to blame himself any longer.  None of what happened on that beach all those years ago had been his fault.  It had been so far beyond a child’s control. 

She was just happy that she recognised that, now.

“You should tell him,” Ianto encouraged softly.  “Yes, he’d been so very hurt by what had happened, but there’s always been that sliver of hope that things could change, that he could get his family back.”  He reached out, taking her hand, and it was so very different from Phillip’s touch, and yet the same…so supporting and understanding.  “He got you back, Mam.  He needs to see that, maybe, he could get his brother back as well.”

Samara could understand having that sort of hope.  For so long she’d despaired of seeing either of her boys again, believing they were both dead.  Now, she had her Jack – her Jamys – back in her life, and with him came a large family that had accepted her instantly despite what she’d done to Jack in the past. 

“And to be honest,” the dragon went on, “I think, of anyone, you would be the one with the best chance to bring Gray back.  You’re his mother…and I’ve long known that a child needs their mother.”  His lips quirked upward in a self-deprecating half-smile.  “I hadn’t had one in a very long time…until you came along.  My mother would have liked you very much, Samara.  She wouldn’t have hesitated to Name you a dragon-friend.”

That sent a surge of pride through Samara.  She’d had a crash-course in dragon traditions since she’d been found on Maker’s World, and she knew exactly what sort of honour that was.  She’d also been present when Ianto had Named her, the second night she’d spent in Ddraig Llyn, surrounded by her new family and their friends…and the Great Dragons, who had taken her breath away with their power and majesty.  She’d never truly believed in any sort of deity until then, and while the Great Dragons had denied being Gods, Samara felt that they were the closest she’d ever get to seeing such celestial beings.

She squeezed Ianto’s hand.  “Then let’s go see what Jack and the little ones are up to?”

That made Ianto’s small smile grow in to a large one.  He tugged on her hand lightly, and Samara accompanied him through the house and out onto the front lawn, then down the small path to the lake. 

Samara loved Ddraig Llyn.  Until she’d come to Earth, she’d spent the majority of her life on Maker’s World, surrounded by sea and sand and the chillness of the desert.  Her all-too-few forays offworld hadn’t prepared her for the sheer impressiveness and peacefulness of the valley where her family had lived for centuries.  The mountains that surrounded Ddraig Llyn were the tallest she’d ever seen; several of them capped with snow even in summer.  Trees of so many types clad their slopes, trees ancient almost beyond imagining.  On one of the mountains there was a dark, scar-like place that gave evidence of the fire that had broken out there after a lightning strike ten years ago; Ianto had told her the story of their family rallying around to stop it before it damaged more than just trees, and how fires did happen periodically…but that was simply the cycle of life in the valley, where fire cleansed and rain nurtured and the air circulated seeds and the earth accepted it all, steady and strong under their feet.

The lake was the bluest water that Samara had ever seen, so clear and deep it reflected the mountains in its depths.  Laughter sounded over the placid surface, and Samara looked up to see her son, now a magnificent blue-grey dragon, circling overhead and surrounded by four smaller dragons: red, brown, green, and black.  Another dragon, this one the colour of the purest sapphires – Anwyn, Samara knew – batted at the larger dragon playfully with her tail, making Jack growl and dart toward her, and she gracefully moved out of the way of a snapping wing.

Samara couldn’t help but grin at the sight.  They were all so playful, and it warmed her heart. 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

**_15 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Ddraig Llyn_ **

 

Together, she and Ianto joined the three on the bank of the lake, sitting on a woollen blanket and watching the dragons above them play.

Samara quite liked Anwyn’s mate, Gwaine.  He was a cheerful rogue, with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his lips.  He was quite handsome, bearded and well-muscled as befit one of the Knights of Torchwood.  He was dressed casually today, in short trousers and a tight t-shirt, leaning back on well-sculpted arms as his dark eyes tracked his mate across the blue sky. 

With him was Robyn, the youngest of the five little foundlings that Jack and Ianto had adopted.  She was in her human form; as far as Samara knew, she only changed into her dragon shape at night when she slept…a gorgeous golden creature with bright green eyes.  Robyn was an anomaly for a dragon: one that was afraid to fly.  Being human kept her from having to even think about it, and Samara felt bad for her, having to sit on the sidelines as her siblings and father had fun above them. 

Alyce was also there.  She was the last born of the Harkness-Jones natural children, and she fell within the family ‘norm’: brown hair, blue eyes, and that dimple in her chin that most of them seemed to have inherited.  She was thirteen, and blooming into a beautiful young woman, envious of her siblings being able to fly as dragons.  Since Jack had carried her, she had been born into a human form, and wouldn’t get her dragon form until she found her mate.  It was sad in a way, and no one really understood why it happened like that. 

“Samara,” Gwaine greeted her with a cheeky grin as he slid over to make room for her on the blanket.  “You’re looking lovely this afternoon.”

She completely failed to roll her eyes at him as she settled onto the bright red wool.  “Does your mate know you’re flirting with her grandmother?”  Samara knew very well that Anwyn was, indeed, familiar with her mate’s ways; Ianto had once made the comment that she’d mated a man that was very much in the mould of her human father.  Anwyn, who’d overheard, had made gagging noises and had fled the room.

The twinkle in his eye gave his laughter away, even as he was huffing in mock indignation.  “I can’t compliment a beautiful woman?”

“No,” she teased, “you can’t.”

Gwaine did laugh then, and Samara joined him.  It felt good, surrounded by people who loved and accepted her. 

“Tad,” Alyce piped up, “you’re not gonna fly with Dad and the others?” She sounded wistful, and Samara reached over and dragged her over for a hug.  Alyce settled in against her grandmother, sighing in happiness.

“No,” Ianto answered, smiling softly.  “Not at the moment.  Maybe later.”  He took a seat on the ground, his bare toes digging into the grass.  Robyn snuggled up against him, and he put his arm around her gently, kissing the top of her blonde head.  He looked so content it made Samara’s heart ache just a little.

This was where Samara belonged.  She knew that now.  Maker’s World had been home for such a short time, when her family had been together and whole, and after that horrific day living there had become a sort of penance…one that she hadn’t even known she was paying.  This peaceful valley in the north of the Welsh mountains though…this was the home she hadn’t even known was waiting for her.  The very place was a balm to her weary soul.

Jack and the children – and yes, she was including Anwyn in that category, even though her granddaughter was considerably older than Samara herself – played for a little while longer, and then he finally began cajoling them all onto to the ground.  Once they were down, then Jack descended, the now familiar golden glow surrounding his dragon shape contracting until he was standing on the grass in his normal form, wearing the coat that Samara had realised was his signature garment.  He grinned when he saw her, chivvying the youngsters toward the blanket.

Anwyn collapsed beside her mate, laughing.  Gwaine wrapped his arm around her, and she let him take her weight, very comfortable with him supporting her.  Samara thought they were a very handsome couple, and once again wondered when the pair of them would give her a great-grandchild together.  Yes, she adored Arthur, but Anwyn and Gwaine deserved a family of their own.

Jack squatted on the ground in front of Ianto, a fond expression on his face as he took in his mate and adopted daughter. The others scattered about, except for Lisa; her black dragon form curled up beside Samara, head coming to rest on her grandmother’s knee, her silver-green eyes blinking up at her in absolute trust.

Samara had no idea how she’d earned the child’s good opinion.  She’d had it almost from the moment they’d met, up on Alpha Station, when the little girl had come up to meet them with Phillip, the only other person she seemed to have complete faith in.  Samara had seen first-hand how she would react at times around the other members of the family; Lisa did trust Jack and Ianto, but it wasn’t at the same level of what she obviously felt for Phillip and Samara herself.  Lisa was quiet around everyone else, and there had been a couple of times that Samara had seen fear in those expressive dragon eyes.

Still, her reactions to the others paled in comparison to how she acted around Arthur and Merlin.  It was as if she was terrified of them, and the couple of times the pair had been to Ddraig Llyn before heading back to New Avalon Lisa had actually hidden from them.  And don’t get her started on Lisa’s avoidance of Rory.

It bothered both Jack and Ianto, but every time they’d tried to talk to Lisa about it, the young dragon had denied being bothered at all.  It was all very perplexing, and Samara wanted to get to the bottom of it.

She would have to be patient, however.  She didn’t want to risk losing Lisa just because she wanted to help her and did something heavy-handed.

Samara rested her hand on Lisa’s finely scaled head, stroking lightly across the small crest the child had and down along the sinewy neck.  She was also aware that Jack and Ianto were worried that Lisa hadn’t yet gained her human form; she should have done around her tenth birthday.  Now that she was nearly fourteen – they counted the date of her being released from her protective egg as her birthday, since she couldn’t honestly tell them when she’d been originally born – it was becoming more and more concerning. 

“Where were you this morning?” Jack asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

It hadn’t taken Samara all that long to break herself of calling Jack ‘Jamys’.  Her son had told her that she didn’t have to, but she’d explained that Jack was the name he’d chosen, and had lived with longer than he had by his birth name, and that she would respect that.  It had earned her a shy, happy smile and a hug that threatened to crack a rib. 

Her older son was very exuberant when it came to hugging, although Ianto had claimed he hadn’t always been that way.  Samara could hardly credit that, but then she hadn’t known him back after his immortality, in that time when Jack had been alone and thought he would remain so.  After all, why get close to people if you were only going to lose them?

Quite honestly, Samara didn’t like to even think about her child being cursed with such a thing.  It was heart breaking.  But at least he had Ianto and their children now.  He wouldn’t be alone any more.

Samara remembered Ianto saying to be honest with Jack, and so she said, “I went to visit Phillip on Hubworld.”

Jack immediately understood what she wasn’t saying, judging from the slight paling of his face.  “And what did he say?” he inquired, his voice neutral.

That tone set off Anwyn, who – outside of Ianto – most likely knew Jack’s moods better than anyone.  “Dad, what is it?”

Samara met her son’s eyes, and he nodded slightly, just enough for her to interpret that motion to acquiescence that she share her reasons for making the trip to Hubworld.  “I went to speak to Phillip about reviving your Uncle Gray from his cryo-sleep.”

Anwyn’s body jerked in Gwaine’s arms in surprise.  “You’re joking!”

“She isn’t,” Ianto assured her.  “Phillip posited when I first went to him for help with finding your grandmother that she might be the one to help your uncle recover.”

“Who’s Uncle Gray?” Alyce piped up.  Her blue eyes were lit with curiosity, and Samara considered that her temperament might be more along Jack’s than Ianto’s.

Jack sighed.  Samara could tell he was already regretting asking her that question with the children present.  “Gray is my brother, sweetheart.  He was…very sick, and we have to put him into cryo-freeze a long time ago until we could find a cure.”

Lisa had shifted a little so she could be looking at Jack.  “And a cure’s been found?”

“We think so,” Ianto answered.

“Does this cure have to do with Gran?” the little black dragon asked, once again proving to Samara that nothing much escaped the child.

“It might,” Samara replied.  “Phillip is right…I might be the key to helping Gray get better.”

“Are you going to stay on Hubworld?” There was a very slight tremor in Lisa’s voice, one that Samara didn’t like to hear.  Her little body had gone tense against Samara’s leg.

“No,” she reassured her grandchild.  “I’ll certainly be there a lot more, but I’ll always come back here.”

“And if your Gran does stay,” Ianto added, his old eyes sad, “you can go with her, if you want.”

To Samara it was apparent that it upset Ianto that his adopted daughter might want to be with someone else, but at the same time she knew her son-by-mating would do anything to make Lisa happy.  And, if moving to Hubworld to stay with her grandmother was what it took, then he would let her go. 

Both Ianto and Jack were excellent parents…far better than Samara and Franklin had ever been.

That permission calmed Lisa, judging from the sudden relaxing of her body.  She smiled at her father.  “Thank you, Tad.” 

But Samara noticed something in Lisa’s eyes; almost a sadness, as if she was disappointed that he was so willing to let her go off to another planet with Samara.  Like she was expecting something completely different from his reaction to her not wanting to be away from her grandmother.

Perhaps, though, it would be good for Lisa to get away from Ddraig Llyn for a bit.  She might feel safer if she stayed with Phillip and Clint for a little while, and maybe that would help her open up.  While she wasn’t as comfortable around Clint as she was Phillip, she hadn’t shown any signs of being wary of him like she did with the rest of the family. 

Samara would suggest that to Jack and Ianto, later when the children were in bed.

“Mom,” Jack said, sounding far more tentative than he had since Samara had arrived on Earth, “we might have to accept that it won’t work…”  His own eyes held so much devastation it made Samara’s stomach twist. 

“I know, but we have to try.”  Samara could feel the determination rise up within her, and she silently vowed that she would do everything in her power to help Gray heal, and to reunite the two brothers.

They shouldn’t be so far apart like this.  It was just wrong.

Samara wanted nothing more than to fix it and get her two boys back.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like two chapters today. Is that alright? *winks*

 

**_16 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 851g (Hubworld)_ **

 

“I’m going to be right in the security centre,” Phillip reassured Samara.  “We have cameras in the room, so we can be there in moments if anything happens.”

Samara nodded, but his words did nothing to calm her raging nerves.  She had arrived at Torchwood Tower that morning, with Lisa in tow, and one of the first things Phillip had done was sit her down and tell her exactly what they’d discovered last night when they’d taken Gray out of cryo-sleep.  All readings on the equipment had been nominal, but there was still a chance that being that long frozen might have done damage that they wouldn’t know anything about until Gray was fully conscious.  Samara had accepted that news, outwardly calm and determined, but her insides were squirming and she thought she might throw up from the feelings of dread that were washing over her like the high tide. 

Lisa had gone to stay with Clint and Nicole at their home.  She really didn’t need to be anywhere near the tower if this didn’t work.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder, and she smiled up at Ianto.  The dragon had also insisted on coming along, telling her it was to give them a level of security they might not have in case something went wrong.  Samara also knew it was because Ianto had once sworn a Vow of Vengeance against Gray, and it was only his word to Jack, a long time ago, that had stayed his hand.  He wanted to make absolutely certain that, if he needed to act, he could without Gray doing anything else to Jack. 

That meant he would be watching on the same cameras that Phillip was.

Jack, however, had stayed home.  Samara could tell just how terrified he was, and while usually she knew he was quite brave, this was throwing him badly.  In fact, Jack had volunteered to come with them, but Ianto had practically ordered him to stay home.  The relief Jack had felt at that command had been palpable in the atmosphere of the Harkness-Jones kitchen that morning.

“He won’t hurt me,” Samara said with more conviction than she was actually feeling.  Gray had been physically and psychologically damaged; there was no telling what he might do, even if he woke up with his mind intact.     

Phillip didn’t look that sure himself, but he nodded in response.  “We have him restrained, and I’m afraid he’s going to need to stay that way for the time being, until we can determine if he’s a security risk.  We don’t want him escaping.”

Samara could certainly understand that.  After all the chaos that Gray had once rained down on Old Cardiff, they wouldn’t want him to get away to do the same thing on Hubworld.  Despite the planet being Torchwood’s main base, there were families that lived in Gliese City, and she didn’t want anyone innocent hurt or killed simply because she’d felt the overwhelming need to have her younger son back with her. 

“Samara,” Ianto spoke up quietly, “you don’t have to be here.  We know you love Gray, but if this is too much for you…”

“No, I’ll be fine.  It’s just…” she let out a small sob that there had been no way she would have held in, “he’s my baby.  I thought he was lost for so long…almost as long as I’d thought I’d lost Jamys.  Franklin and I failed him, Ianto…we failed both our sons.  I have my older boy back; now I need to do the same thing for my youngest.”

She could see the empathy in his oh-so ancient eyes.  “I understand.  If I could somehow save my own family, I’d do everything in my power.” 

Samara could hear what the dragon wasn’t saying.  _But I wouldn’t risk my current family to do it._

That wasn’t what she was doing in this instance, however.  There would be no risk if she could somehow get through to Gray.  And, if there wasn’t, then she would approve Phillip putting him back into cryo-freeze to be awakened again at another time.

“I’ve also contacted a couple of the best therapists out there,” Phillip said.  “They’re standing by.  And if I have to call in medical specialists, I will.  This is possibly the best chance we have to rehabilitate him, Samara.”

She had to agree.  In this time, this place…it felt right.  This really would be the only chance they had, no matter what else Samara might have considered.  If they had to freeze Gray again, it would most likely be for good.

Maybe she should let Ianto fulfil his Vow of Vengeance in that case.  It might be more of a mercy than perpetual cold storage.

No, she couldn’t even think about that.  She had to concentrate on bringing Gray back to the family, where he belonged.

Taking a deep breath, Samara nodded in acknowledgement.  “How long before he wakes up completely?”

“It’ll be any time now,” the ice mage answered, “according to the sensors we have in the room.” 

“Then I want to be there when he does.” 

Phillip nodded once.  “The door is down the hall.  I’ve put a couple of guards on it, just as a precaution.”

She’d known that Phillip was organised, but this was really the first time she’d seen him in action, and it was fairly impressive.  She made a mental note to come to him when it was time for Jack’s birthday; she thought perhaps a surprise party might be nice.

And, perhaps, Gray might be there as well.

Ianto hugged her.  She wanted to stay like that, taking the comfort that was being offered, but she had work to do.

Trying her best to calm her nerves, Samara left the security centre and made her way down toward Gray’s room.  It was obvious to pick out, with the two large armed guards standing on either side of the closed door. 

Samara’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear beyond it.  The off-grey walls of the security section felt as if they were closing in on her, but she did her best to ignore it as she approached the guards Phillip had ordered to be ready outside of her son’s room. 

The right-hand guard nodded as the other greeted her with a quiet, “Ma’am,” then used his hand-print to trigger the biometrics on the door.  There was a soft click –  the sound like a gunshot in the silence of the corridor –  as the lock disengaged.

A small part of her wanted Samara to turn and walk away.  That she didn’t want to see Gray; to see what those bastards had done to him to change him from the loving little boy she’d raised and into the killer he’d become.  That didn’t want her memories tainted by what was in that room.

But no.  She couldn’t take the coward’s way out.  She was Gray’s mother, and it was up to her to do everything she could to help him heal.

Grabbing her courage in both metaphorical hands, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...two. :)

 

**_16 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 851g (Hubworld)_ **

 

The room was plain, and that was being kind.  The only two pieces of furniture in the room was the bed, and a metal chair.  It was windowless, the light coming in from fixtures recessed into the ceiling.  The same off-grey paint that was in the hallway was also on these four walls as well, and it made the place unnecessarily gloomy.  She’d have to mention that to Phillip, but then Samara doubted that the people usually kept in these rooms cared all that much if the paint colour was a bit more cheerful.

The figure on the bed drew her forward like a moth to a flame.

Tears prickled her eyes as she stared down at the motionless body of her younger son.  Gray would have been handsome, taking more after Franklin than he did her, with dark hair that was slightly curled but without the cleft in his chin that Jack had inherited from Samara’s own father.  There was a hideous scar on his neck, moving from behind his right ear and travelling down his neck to disappear under the thin medical gown he’d been dressed in.  He didn’t look at all peaceful, and Samara wanted nothing more than to soothe him, but she didn’t dare…not right now.  Maybe later it would be alright, after Gray was awake and responding to her.

Padded straps were fastened around his wrists and ankles, a matching one encircling his chest as well.  It wasn’t right that he should be confined like that, and it was only the sure and certain knowledge that he’d try to escape that kept her from loosening them.  They looked unnatural on her boy, but they would have to stay for the time being.

Samara was a bit surprised by the old-fashioned restraints.  She knew there had to be a reason for them, and for not using the forcefield projectors that she’d seen in hospitals all over the Empire.  She’d have to ask Phillip about it when she saw him again.

Gray’s head moved slightly, and at that sign of impending consciousness Samara’s heart actually calmed.  This was her son, and she needed to take care of him.  That trumped the adrenaline high that had been previously been sizzling through her like an electric pulse.

Dragging the chair closer to the bed, Samara took a seat and watched as Gray slowly began to awaken. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, but she didn’t know how he would react to that touch.  He’d been hurt so badly, he might decide to take it the wrong way.  Or, he would be so touch-starved it would do more damage than simply waiting beside him.

His eyes fluttered open.  They were muzzy, and he blinked them as he attempted to work out where he was.  When they turned to regard her, Samara bravely met that gaze, unfocussed from long-term cryonic suspension and confusion.

His lips moved, and while the word he spoke was silent Samara was perfectly capable of reading what he’d said.

_Mom._

Samara smiled, so glad he was able to recognise her.  She leaned forward, her palm itching to take his hand but holding back until she knew it was a welcome touch.  “Hello, Gray,” she whispered.  “Take it easy.  You’re going to be fine.”

He frowned, eyes darting around, taking in his surroundings, none of them familiar to him.  “Where am I?”  The question was gravelly, but perfectly understandable.

“You’re safe,” she reassured him.  “I’m here, and I’m going to take care of you now.”

Gray didn’t look happy at her evasion, but Samara wasn’t about to tell him he was Torchwood custody.  That would upset him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. 

“How did you get here?” Gray was wary and confused.

Samara needed to reassure him.  “Sweetheart, you’ve been in cryo-sleep for over three thousand years.  You’ve just caught up with me.”

The shock was evident on his face.  Gray tried to move, and that was when he noticed the straps on his limbs.  “Why am I tied down?”  He looked close to panic, and the wariness had turned into fear.

“Gray…” She didn’t know what to say about that.  Had his memory been affected by the long-term freezing?  Did he not remember what he’d done to his brother?  In the end, wouldn’t it be for the best if he did forget?

She just didn’t know.

And suddenly, Gray’s fear morphed into something else. 

“It’s him, isn’t it?” he snarled, jerking his arms against the restraints.  “It’s Jamys, right?  He brought you here to convince me to forgive him!  Well, you tell him that’s never going to happen!  I’ll hate him until the day I die!”

Samara reared back from the sheet amount of venom in her younger son’s voice.  She couldn’t help the tears that tracked down her cheeks.  “Gray, you need to calm down – “

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Gray shouted, his fury battering against her like storm surge.  “It’s a trick!  He brings you in to make me pliable and I’m supposed to forgive him?”

“Herbert Grayson Wells!” Samara snapped.  This was a tantrum and she needed to put an end to it.  “You will settle down this instant!”  Gray had done this sort of thing before as a child, and by Goddess she wasn’t about to let him get away with it now, even with everything he’d been through. 

Gray’s mouth shut with an almost audible click, his eyes wide and staring.  Samara had caught him by surprise, and she wasn’t sure if this was good or bad.

“Now,” she said into the silence, “you are going to calm down and let me explain.  I am your mother and you will respect me, is that understood?”

It was possibly the wrong tack to take, but she just couldn’t let him rant on like that.  Not only was it upsetting to her, but she was fairly certain Phillip would send someone in to sedate him if it kept up too long.  She didn’t want that, and if she could bring a little control over the situation by putting all of her motherly discipline into her voice then that was what she was going to do.

Gray nodded, not saying anything, still too stunned by her verbal smackdown to speak. 

“Good.”  She sat up in her chair, not bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks.  Let him see how upset he’d made her.  “First of all, your brother didn’t bring me here.  It was the current Director of the Torchwood Institute.”  That was a partial lie, but Samara didn’t think it would do any of them any good to admit that it was Ianto who’d done the actual fetching. 

“Torchwood is still around?” The question was innocent enough, but the expression in Gray’s eyes wasn’t.

“Yes, it is,” Samara confirmed.  “And don’t be getting any ideas into your head, young man.  Torchwood has expanded throughout the Twelve Galaxies, so you’re not going to be able to bring it down just to spite your brother, who isn’t even running it anymore.”  She didn’t say that Jack wasn’t involved, but she didn’t want to give that away.

Gray flinched, which told Samara that her guess had been completely correct. 

“Director Coulson thought it was time to finally bring you out of your suspension,” she went on.  “And I agreed.  I want my child back, Gray, and the creature you’ve become isn’t my boy.”

“Then blame your golden older son,” Gray spat.  “He made me this way.”

“No he didn’t,” Samara denied.  “The creatures who took you did.”

“But he let them take me!  He let go of my hand!”

“And it was a responsibility he never should have been given.  Your father was wrong to do it.  Jamys would have failed no matter what, and it wasn’t his fault.”

Gray looked as if she’d just betrayed him.  “You can’t believe that!”

“I do.  Now, I won’t say there wasn’t a time when I wasn’t like you, but I’ve come to realise that your father was the true one to blame.  He should have stayed with you and your brother and not tried to come back to the settlement for me.  If he’d done that, none of this would have happened. But instead he gave you into the keeping of your twelve-year-old brother, and he should have known better!  It’s not Jamys’ fault, Gray.  It never was.”

With that, Gray went berserk.

He thrashed on the bed, screaming at the top of his lungs.  His face was red with his fury, and the sharp movements were digging the straps into his wrists, his fingers going white under the strain.  Samara jumped to her feet, wanting to find a way to calm him, to comfort him, but she couldn’t get close enough to him to do anything.

Goddess, her heart! Samara didn’t think it was possible for it to hurt like this.  She could only stand there and watch her younger son become more and more crazed, until someone came into the room and used a hypo to sedate him.  It must have been fast-acting; it was only seconds before Gray was still and quiet once more, the nurse checking the restraints and making certain he hadn’t injured himself during his fit.

Warm arms wrapped around her, and Samara was led away from her child who, she was beginning to accept, really was insane.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about another two today?

 

**_16 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

It wasn’t until they were making their way into Phillip and Clint’s home that Samara finally realised that it had been Ianto who had practically carried her out of Gray’s room.

When she did, she mentally cursed herself; it had to have been Ianto, with his higher body temperature, because if it had been Phillip the grasp would have been cooler.  However, she’d been so caught up in her own thoughts that perhaps she could have been excused for not paying all that much attention.

She’d known, going in, that it could go very, very badly.  That Gray could have been damaged, or not all there.  But that raving _thing_ that had to have been sedated had been a shock to her.  Her words had been what had triggered Gray into his meltdown, and she hadn’t seen it coming at all.

She’d heard the story, but she’d believed that Gray could be reasoned with where his brother was concerned.  That she would be able to talk him around to forgiving Jack for something that hadn’t really been his fault at all, and therefore reunite her family once more. 

But that wasn’t what had happened.

She was bundled onto the sofa, and someone pressed a warm mug in her hand.  The scent of the sweetened tea wafted up to her, and robotically Samara took a sip.  It was almost too sweet, but it settled her nerves and she was able to look up into the tri-coloured eyes of her grandson, Clint, as they gazed at her worriedly from where he was sitting on the coffee table across from her, watching her intently.  Ianto stood just behind him, his arms crossed and a fierce expression, as if he wanted to anything he could to stop her from hurting, and she loved him for it.

But there really wasn’t a thing he could do to help.

“Phillip’s gone to check on Nicole and Lisa,” Clint said softly.  “Drink your tea and relax.” He glanced over his shoulder at his father.  “He looked furious. I thought he was going to go all Rite of Vengeance on someone.”

“Too late,” the dragon answered dryly, “I did that centuries ago.”

Clint rolled his eyes, and Samara couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.  It would have been fine if it hadn’t sounded just the bad side of hysterical, and honestly she didn’t have a single thing to laugh about.  The comment wasn’t really all that funny, considering that Samara knew exactly what Ianto was talking about.

The sound of that single, strangled laugh must have alarmed both her son-by-mating and her grandson, because suddenly they were both on the sofa, one on each side of her, enveloping her in dragon warmth as they tucked in beside her.  Clint gently removed the now-shaking mug from her hand and set it down on the coffee table, and Samara let herself collapse against both of them, accepting the comfort they were giving.

Her laughter turned into sobs very quickly.

Samara hadn’t wanted to lose control, but the agony she was feeling crashed into her like a storm front, and she curled up against the two members of her family and let everything out.  She sobbed her heart out in the cocoon of Ianto and Clint’s arms, letting them hold her as she railed against the Universe for what it had done to her beautiful baby boy.  Gray was wrecked, and he would never be the bright child who’d played in the surf off the Boeshane Peninsula, who’d run with his brother as they’d chased the colourful flutterflies that had made their home in the ocean rushes that had lined the shore, or built sandcastles on the dunes above the water line.  The child who would have been happy to spend hours simply listening to his father read to him from the stories that had come from Franklin’s homeworld; while Jamys read to himself from the tales that had come from Samara’s own family. 

Those moments of peace were gone forever.  They would never return. 

At least, not while brother blamed brother for what had been a horrific turn of fate.

Samara lost track of time as she cried out her pain and fear into the arms of her close family.  Eventually, though, the sob diminished, and she was able to pull back just enough to signal to them that she was alright. 

By that time, however, the three of them had gained three more.  Phillip, Nicole, and Lisa had joined them; Phillip taking Clint’s former place on the coffee table, with Lisa leaning against him and Nicole over his right shoulder.  The moment Ianto and Clint had made room, Lisa was in Samara’s lap, the teenaged dragon a bit too heavy but Samara didn’t mind at all.  She put her own arm about Lisa, tucking the dragon against her, careful of the wings that lay flat against Lisa’s back. 

“I’m alright,” she assured her great-granddaughter.  Well, it was really aimed at all of them, but judging from the looks she was receiving it wasn’t working.

“You don’t have to go back there,” Phillip said softly.  His ice-blue eyes were kind, and understanding.  “I can take over Gray’s rehabilitation…”

No one said it, but Samara could hear the silent, _If it could be done._

“Let him,” Clint urged.  “Gran, this is hurting you…”

She couldn’t, though, as tempting as it was.  Samara didn’t want to see Gray like that, screaming and tearing at his restraints, sounding as if his very soul was being torn from him. 

“I’m his mother,” she whispered, her throat sore from her own distress.  “I have to do this.”

“Then I’m going to be with you,” Clint swore.  “I’m going to be in that room with you – “

“Clint, no…”  She couldn’t let him.  He didn’t know Gray; didn’t know his own uncle the way that Samara did.

Her eyes met Ianto’s, and in that gaze she realised that he _knew_ her Gray better than Samara did.

Gray had changed beyond Samara’s recognition.  The tortures he’d been put through had damaged him, perhaps beyond saving.

But Samara Wells had already once given up on one son; she would be damned if she was going to do it to another.

“You’re not going to talk me out of it,” Clint replied.  “You’re going to need someone close, closer than Phillip’s security post.  And I’m not afraid to do what will need to be done if things get out of control.”  His eyes spoke of his determination to protect her at all costs.  “You’re my grandmother, and I’ve actually never had one before so please excuse me for wanting to take care of the one I _do_ have.”

Samara didn’t know a lot about Clint’s previous life, but just that little speech told her things she wasn’t certain she wanted to know.  She pulled one arm away from Lisa and curled it around his shoulders, pulling him close once more.  “I love you,” she whispered into his hair, pitifully grateful that she truly wasn’t facing this alone. 

Clint put his own arms back around her, including Lisa in their three-person cuddle pile.  “Yeah, well,” he huffed, “I’m just really a loveable sort of guy.”

Samara laughed at that, a little piece of her grief finally breaking away and floating off.  Yes, there was a lot still there, but it would get better; she knew it.  Especially when she had her family with her.

She sighed.  “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m suddenly famished.”

And that seemed to break the ice…well, not literally, as Phillip had his magic firmly under control.

Clint pulled away, and there was a large smile on his face.  “I think we can do something about that.”

“Clint’s right,” Phillip chuckled, standing.  “And then I hate to say, but I’m going to need to get back to work.  Bratsk is probably wondering if I’m avoiding the paperwork on purpose.”

One of Clint’s eyebrows went up.  “And you aren’t?”

It was Ianto’s turn to laugh. “As much paperwork as I ever did for Torchwood, I never enjoyed it as much as Jack claimed I did.  I just knew I was the only one who would do it properly.”

Phillip didn’t say anything, but his expression spoke volumes. 

Before he could move away, Samara reached out and grasped his hand.  His cool fingers wrapped around hers, and he smiled down at her.  “You don’t have to say anything,” he murmured.  “We’ll do some more tests tonight while Gray is sedated, and we’ll time it so he comes out from under in the morning.”

“Thank you,” Samara said, her voice warm with the sincerity she was feeling. 

“There are no thanks needed,” he answered, just as warmly.  “If it was either Nathan or Nicole in that room, I’d be there every day.”

Nicole gave her adopted father a very fond look, hugging him from behind.  “Nathan and I feel the same way, Dad,” she told him. 

His free hand landed on Nicole’s arms around his waist.  He didn’t say anything; but then, he really didn’t need to.  It was writ large all over his face, how much her words meant to Phillip. 

“Enough mush,” Clint proclaimed, standing up.  “Gran is hungry, and I can hear Tad’s stomach growling all the way over here.”

“That is a scurrilous lie,” Ianto answered primly.  He also stood.  “And forgive me, but I’m not going to eat here.  Jack’s waiting back at home, and he’ll want to know what happened.”  He smiled sadly at Samara.  “We’ll all get through this, Mam,” he told her.  “You’re not alone.”

Samara noticed that her legs were falling asleep, so she released Phillip’s hand and then gently shifted Lisa so that the child was sitting beside her.  “I know,” she answered.

It felt amazing, not being along anymore.  For so long, she’d existed by herself on Maker’s World, afraid to leave the place where her memories were: both good and bad.  She’d been the last of their family, until Ianto and Anwyn had come for her.  Now she was surrounded by people who loved her, and she would never go back to the loneliness that had consumed her before.

Ianto leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, almost like a benediction.  “I’ll be back in the morning,” he promised.  “I’m going to be in the security centre with Phillip the entire time.”

Samara nodded in agreement.  The dragon returned the nod, and then kissed Lisa as well.  The young dragon had a wistful expression in her eyes as Ianto left, and Samara wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to her without an audience.  Something was going on with her, and she wanted to help her just as much as she wanted to help Gray.

“Gran,” Lisa said, “is Uncle Gray really that sick?”

Jack, Ianto, and Samara had explained as much as they could to all the younger children last night, but after her breakdown Samara should have known she’d have to go into more detail with her.  “He is,” she answered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clint, Phillip, and Nicole all leaving the room, and she was so tempted to call them all cowards, leaving her alone with Lisa.  Still, she was hungry, and the sooner there was something to eat the sooner she could get out of what was going to be a very uncomfortable conversation.

“Your uncle was just a child when he was taken away,” she went on.  “He was younger than you, in fact.”

“And he was hurt really badly?”

Sometimes Samara wondered how Lisa had come up with her particular turns of phrase; she sounded so much older than she really was.  “Yes, sweetheart…he was.”

“It’s made him angry.”

She looked at her granddaughter thoughtfully.  That realisation showed that the young dragon was much cleverer than anyone was giving her credit for.  “That’s right.  And he blames your Dad for what happened to him, even though it wasn’t Jack’s fault.”

Lisa nodded solemnly.  “Sometimes it’s easier to blame someone you love for something terrible than it is to blame who’s really responsible.”

Samara was stunned by that, coming from a teenaged dragon who sounded as if she had personal experience in just that sort of thing.  She caught movement just behind Lisa; eyes flicking upward, she caught sight of Phillip as he stood in the door to the kitchen, watching their interaction intently.  He had to have heard what Lisa had concluded, and the surprise of it was evident in the scrutiny he was giving the black dragon.

 “Lisa,” he said softly, as if he really didn’t want to break the mood, “go and wash up for lunch.”

The black dragon turned to look at him, and then smiled, showing needle-like teeth.  “Alright, Phillip,” she agreed.  She climbed down off the sofa and headed toward the bathroom.

Samara stood up, feeling a little stiff at having sat for so long.  “Answer me this,” she murmured, not wanting Lisa to overhear, “how does a fourteen-year-old dragon know about that sort of thing?”

“I have no idea, Samara,” he sighed. “I want to think it has something to do with her life before her parents hid her away, but surely a child that young wouldn’t remember that sort of thing?”

She had to agree with him on that.  From what she’d heard from Jack and Ianto, the only ones of their foundlings who could even vaguely recall their previous lives were William and maybe James.  Lisa had simply been too young to remember anything about it.

No, they were overlooking something.  Samara just didn’t know what it was.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter

 

**_16 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 851g (Hubworld)_ **

 

Lunch was a fun affair, with all five of them at the table.

Nicole regaled them all about her studies at Merlin’s Magic School on New Avalon, and there was one involving a miscast Disguise Spell and a Draconian that had Samara almost falling out of her chair in laughter.  Nicole had apparently inherited her father and grandfather’s ability to tell the tallest tales, and it showed in her hand gestures as she explained the Draconian’s reaction to what could have been a serious diplomatic incident, including small magical sparks cracking from her fingers at the best part. 

The meal was over far too soon, and Phillip headed out to go back to Torchwood Tower.  Clint looked disappointed, but then Samara couldn’t blame him; she knew just how devoted they were to each other, and from what she’d heard about their past – in Clint’s past life – that hadn’t always been the case. Promising to be back for dinner, Phillip kissed them all good-bye, although the one he gave Clint was a little more…adult…than the ones he bestowed upon Lisa, Nicole, and – to her surprise – Samara herself. 

Once Phillip had left, Clint turned to them all, rubbing his hands together happily.  “Okay, everyone get your shoes on…we’re going out.”

Samara demurred. “I’m not really in the mood – “

He waved off her denial.  “If you stay cooped up in here all day, all you’re going to do is brood.”

She had to admit that he was correct.  After everything that had happened that morning, Samara had been quite content to self-flagellate over how her first meeting with Gray had gone.  It looked as if her grandson had her measure and wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

“I don’t have shoes,” Lisa glared.

Clint laughed, hugging her.  “You don’t need them, sweetheart, but Nicole and your Gran certainly do.”

Nicole was off like a shot to the shoe rack, where she proceeded to put on the flat-heeled shoes she preferred.  Samara really wanted to argue with Clint against going, but she knew that stubborn look in his eyes by now and he wasn’t about to let her get away with that. So, she sighed, and went to get her shoes.  “And what do you have planned for today?” she asked as she bend over to retrieve them.

Clint looked as if that was the very question he’d wanted her to ask.  “Let’s play tourist!  Gran, you and Lisa haven’t really seen Gliese City, and I know Nicole will just get antsy if she stays in the house all day…”

“So will you, Dad,” Nicole pointed out, laughing.

“So will I,” Clint agreed.  Samara knew of Clint’s former wandering ways, that he’d given up when he’d gained his mate.

“There’s also this dress I saw in a store not too far from here,” she added, winking.

“And apparently my daughter wants to get a new dress.”

Samara couldn’t help but join in on the laughter.  Being around them was lifting her spirits. And Clint was right: the last time she’d been on Hubworld she’s really only seen the Tower and a nice restaurant that Jack and Ianto had taken her to.  “And I’m sure at least one of you know of a good craft store to visit,” she chimed in. 

“Gran,” Clint teased, “you need more yarn like I need a hole in a wing!”

She couldn’t help it, Samara put on a mock pout and said, “You can never have too much yarn! Besides, Phillip needs mittens since his hands are always cold!”

“Oh Goddess,” her grandson chortled, “you’re not wrong there!”  He looked like he wanted to fall to the floor, he was laughing so hard.

Even Lisa was smiling, showing most of her sharp teeth.  “It’s like being hugged by an ice cube sometimes,” she giggled.

Clint reached over and pulled her into a hug of his own.  “Baby girl, a greater truth has never been spoken!”

Lisa’s eyes were shining at the attention.  Samara knew they were joking at Phillip’s expense, since this ice mage wasn’t always _that_ cold, but it was good to see Clint and Lisa getting along in that moment.  Soon, it would most likely go back to the young dragon being wary of her older brother, but for now they were a family and she was so very happy to be a witness to it.

“And I’m sure there’s something Lisa would want to do,” Nicole added, reaching out and playfully tugging on the upper claw on one of her niece’s black wings.  Lisa flexed the wing and whapped Nicole in the arm in retaliation.

“Can we go to a bookstore?” Lisa asked hopefully.  She loved to read, and Samara had often seen her with a book held carefully in her small claws when the rest of the children were out playing.

“You bet we can,” Clint said, squeezing her tightly once more and then letting her go in order to grab his own shoes.  “Oh, have you read any of Taquin Shoenal’s new fantasy series…?”

That started Lisa off as she excitedly began to tell everyone what a wonderful author Shoenal was.   Samara was charmed by her enthusiasm, which kept up as they all made their way out of the house and into the street. 

She basked in the feeling of family.  It was still so new to her, but she didn’t know how she’d lived so long without it.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what the heck...let's do another two today. :)

 

**_17 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

“Who’s that?” Gray asked warily.

They’d put the head of the bed up that morning, so that Gray could sit up.  He was still wearing the restraints, but Samara understood the reason for it better after yesterday’s tantrum. 

Her baby boy had bruises under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept.  Phillip had told her that he’d been sedated all night, so that wasn’t the reason for those dark circles.  His eyes darted around the room, not landing on any one thing, and there was a spark of surprise in them when he realised that Samara wasn’t alone.

“That’s Clint,” Samara answered.  “After yesterday it was decided that I shouldn’t be alone with you.”

Clint was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, his sharp gaze watching Gray like the hawk that was his nickname.  Today, he’d dressed in the official uniform of Torchwood: black tunic and trousers, with the stylised red “T” and dragon that was its coat of arms.  His quiver was hanging from his belt, and his bow was hooked over one shoulder.  It was the only weapon he needed, but Samara was convinced there were more hidden on his person.  Her grandson was always prepared, even though he looked utterly relaxed.

“Even with these?” Gray mocked, shaking his arms as best he could to indicate the straps.

“Yes, even with those,” Samara agreed.  “You had to admit you don’t have the best…reputation…where Torchwood is concerned.”

Today, Samara was determined to remain calm, and to talk to Gray like he was the damaged adult that he was, instead of the child he was still in her memory.  She’d learned her lesson yesterday. 

“I have a good reason for that,” he sneered, his face twisting into an expression of such hate that Samara had to suppress the shiver that crawled up her spine.

“Do you really?”

His dark eyes narrowed.  “Jamys let go of my hand, Mother.  He’s the one that let me get taken by the raiders.”

“If he let go,” Samara said, meeting her son’s angry gaze, “then why didn’t you hold on instead?”

Gray regarded her, eyes narrowed.  He didn’t speak, and Samara was just going to let him chew over that comment for a bit until he decided to answer her question. 

The silence spooled out between them.  Samara felt uncomfortable with it, but let it stand.  It was going to be up to Gray to say something next.  She’d asked her question, and she waited for his response.

Finally, he asked, “What?”

It wasn’t what she’d expected, but it was something.  “It’s a simple enough question, Gray…if Jamys was the one who let go, why didn’t you keep holding on despite it?  It would have been easy to do, after all.  Just keep your hand around his.  Why didn’t you do that?”

The scenario had played out in her head so many times since that terrible day.  Samara had made up all sorts of things about the attack on the colony.  And yes, she’d considered it, if Jamys _had_ somehow let go.  What had Gray done?  Couldn’t he have kept his own grip on his older brother’s hand?

No, it wasn’t that simple. Samara knew that, in her heart of hearts, that it wasn’t just a case of Jack releasing his grasp on Gray’s hand.  Even Jack couldn’t recall exactly what happened, and she just knew that Gray was the same.  Somehow the incident had grown into something else, a far too simple explanation for a horrible event. 

Chances were, they’d never know what truly occurred that day on the beach.  Samara was absolutely certain though that it hadn’t been Jack’s fault. 

“You weren’t there,” Gray snorted.  “You didn’t see it.”

“No, I didn’t,” she admitted. “But I know that Jamys loves you dearly, and he would never have just let go like that.  He would have taken your father’s directions seriously.  No, Gray…I wasn’t there, but you were just a child, with a child’s perspective on things.  What you need to realise is that there was far more into it than just what you think you remember.”

“I _remember_ it,” he snarled, hands tugging against the straps holding them down, as if he wanted to grab her.  “I was _there_!”

“As was Jamys,” she pointed out.  “And he doesn’t even recall exactly what went on.”

“And you believe him over me?” he demanded.

“What I believe,” she answered calmly, “is that neither one of you were old enough to entirely process what did go on that day.  I also believe that your father had no right to ask Jamys to look after you in all that chaos.  If anyone was to blame, it was him…and I’m positive that Franklin would agree with me if he was here.”

“Well, he’s not.  So you don’t know that for a fact, either.”

Samara sighed.  “Gray, if there’s one thing I _do_ know…it’s your father.  Franklin was so very dear to me, and he loved you boys fiercely.  However, he was always giving your brother far more responsibility than Jamys was ready for.  He fell into the trap of believing that Jamys, because he was intelligent, also had the wisdom to make decisions that no child shouldn’t ever have to ever make.  He put you in Jamys’ care in a situation where it was only possible for your brother to fail.”  She leaned forward, needing to get her point across to her damaged child, despairing that she could.  “Let me ask you this…would you have blamed me if it had been me holding your hand that day?  Or your Dad?  Would you have come after either of us the way you did Jamys?”

Gray flinched as if she’d physically struck him.  Before he could react, Samara stood.  “I’m going to let you think about that.  I’d really like your answer when I come back tomorrow.”

She turned and walked toward the door, determined not to look back and see him lying there, helpless to do anything but stay where he was and digest what she’d asked.  Clint straightened and followed, closing the door behind them. 

It was then that Samara collapsed.  If her grandson hadn’t been there, she would have most likely fallen to the floor. 

Both guards looked sympathetic as Clint supported her.  “It’s okay, Gran,” he soothed.  “You were spectacular in there.”

“I think you’re a little biased,” she said shakily.  She rested against him, soaking up the warmth of him, letting it calm her tremors. 

“Nope,” he answered, popping the “p”.  “You’re saying what he needs to hear, Gran.  He might not like it, and he’s not going to agree very easily, but you’re doing the right thing.”  He put his arm more snuggly around her waist and began to usher her down the corridor, toward the security centre where Phillip and Ianto were waiting. 

She needed them all.  Her emotions were all over the place, and she was mourning the little boy that she’d loved and lost so very long ago.  The angry young man in that bed bore absolutely no resemblance to the joyful boy she’d given birth to.  That boy was long gone, lost to the tortures that he’d been put through.

The thing was, in a way Samara could almost understand what Gray was saying.  She, herself, had blamed Jack for losing Gray, until she’d lost him as well and had re-examined her own feelings in the matter.  That had led her to come to the realisation that Franklin had been the one in the wrong, to have left both boys in the midst of the attack in order to come back for her, when she’d been fairly safe within the colony cube at the time.  He shouldn’t have left them alone like that, thinking that Jamys would be able to handle the responsibility of looking after his younger brother.  Jack had failed, but then Samara knew now that he really had much of a chance to succeed as it was.

If she could get Gray to see that as well…

There was a part of her that despaired that would ever happen. 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a special guest star in it...

 

**_17 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

 

“It’s not your fault.”

Samara glanced over at Ianto, who had sat beside her on the bench in the park she’d found herself in after leaving Torchwood Tower in order to be on her own for a bit.  Clint had mumbled something about “brooding” when she’d left the three of them in the security centre at the Tower, and Samara couldn’t disagree.

She wasn’t even sure how she’d managed to get to the park.  Samara only remembered wandering Gliese City, until she’d gotten tired and sat herself down on the most convenient seat…which was a plastic composite bench in a shaded area of a small park, dark-leaved trees hiding the red primary from sight and making the shadows a deep bronze colour.  It was quiet there, as if the rest of the city no longer existed, and she appreciated the silence.

Since she didn’t have a chronometer, Samara had no idea how much time had passed as she’d sat there, lost in her own painful thoughts.  Honestly, she couldn’t have said what they were, only that they whirled through her mind like wind dervishes and would not settle.  It wasn’t that she was giving up, it was just that she was beginning to wonder if she really was the right person to help Gray back from the abyss his sanity had fallen over.  She didn’t know how she was supposed to convince him to accept the help he needed in order to get better.

Still, there was a place within her soul that felt relief that Ianto thought it wasn’t her fault.  Samara was feeling like such a failure, and she didn’t know quite how to cope.

She took the opportunity to lean against his steady shoulder, letting his warmth soak into her bones.  There was silence between them, but it was a nice one, and Samara allowed herself to wallow just a little in his presence. 

“It’s just,” she finally murmured into the quiet of the park, “I’m just not sure how I’m going to be able to help him.  I’m so in over my head in this…”

“I understand,” he said, the soft accent he had giving those two words more sympathy than she’s expected.  “He’s your son.  It has to be so very hard to see him like that and feel so helpless to do anything.”

Samara knew he really did understand.  She could see it in his treatment of Lisa, and his inability to help her with whatever she was going through.  It wasn’t quite on the same par, but if anyone could empathise, it would have been him, despite what Gray had done to him and his team in the past.  After all, he’d vowed vengeance against Gray, and yet had put it off because of Jack.  For the dragon to do that…it spoke so much to his love of Samara’s oldest son, and she couldn’t help but love him more for it, for putting aside his imperative to avenge his mate and family for what Gray had done simply because this was Jack’s brother, and he would never hurt his mate that way.

That was why she said, “Ianto, I need you to promise me something.”

His hand reached over and grasped hers.  “If it’s within my power, you only have to ask.”

“I want you to promise me, if Gray…can’t be saved, and if he gets out and tries to hurt someone, that you’ll fulfil that vow you made all those centuries ago.”

Goddess, the pain that simple request caused!  Her heart felt like it was breaking, but at the same time Samara had to trust someone to make the hard decision if it came down to it.  Yes, she wanted nothing more than to save her son.  She wanted Gray back at her side, and Jack’s, and a part of their family.  But she’d seen him twice now, and she’d heard the stories of what he’d done before, and while she still had hope that wasn’t enough to cause her to lose sight of what Gray was capable of. 

She felt him stiffen slightly against her, and then the tension was gone with a sigh that seemed to have come from his very toes.  “Samara…Mam…I will do whatever it takes to protect my family.  You know that.”

A tear tracked down her cheek, and Samara dashed it away, suddenly angry at her son-by-mating for not coming out and giving her the promise that she was asking for.  “Promise me, Ianto,” she demanded, pushing herself away in order to look him right in the eye.

His expression was unbelievably old and sad.  “You’re hurting right now, and I don’t think you understand what you’re asking – “

“I do,” she snapped.  “I understand exactly what I’m asking!”  In Gray’s current, unstable, state, anything could happen if he was able to escape Torchwood.  Not that she thought Phillip would let something like that occur, but she knew Gray’s intelligence had slipped into cunning over the time he’d been held captive and would be capable of any amount of damage and not care what he wrought.

Not that she was going to give up on him, but Samara could see the sheer magnitude of the hate in him.  What would he do if he was aware of their family?  They wouldn’t be safe…and she understood Jack would feel horribly guilty if Gray did anything to any of his children or grandchildren. It was the main reason she hadn’t told Gray that Clint was his own nephew, and Phillip had agreed with her.

“And what about Jack?  I made my own promise to him when we put Gray into cryogenic suspension.  You’re asking me to choose between you and my mate, and you should know who will always come first with me.”

Every bit of anger left her in a rush, and the headache that began just behind her eyes was left in its place.  Of course, that was exactly what she was asking him to do, and that was incredibly unfair of her to do that to him.  “I’m sorry…”

“No…don’t be.”  Ianto smiled softly at her.  “I do understand what you’re asking, and I’ll be honest…I do agree with you.  But I can’t do anything behind Jack’s back like that.  I’ll talk to him about it tonight.  Let him know what you want to do.  And, if he agrees, then I’ll make that promise to you.  Will that be alright?”

It really was more than fair.  There was no way Samara would do anything to hurt either of her sons, and so she would accept what he was offering. “Yes, that’s fine.”

That capitulation earned her another smile, this one sweet.  “Then I’ll speak with Jack when I get back home.  I will let you know what I decide in the morning.”

Samara hugged him, feeling horribly guilty for what she’d tried to get him to do, and not considering Jack’s feelings in the matter.  But she was Gray’s mother; she really should have final say on what was done with him, only she’d come up against a vow made thousands of years ago, and one that the dragon held far too dear to break.

“Did you know,” Ianto said, changing the subject, “that this park was the first one here on Hubworld?  Jack had trees brought from Earth for it, as a gift to me.”

“My son truly loves you.”

“I know he does.”  This smile was pleased. “Of course, there had to be some changes made in the trees’ genetic structure so they’d survive under Gliese’s red sun, but it was worth it.  There’s power in these trees, even if it’s not quite what it had been back on Earth.  You see, Jack had had them taken from a very magical place called Roundstone Wood, which had once been an area of tremendous power.  The rest of the wood is still there, even though it’s not the same as it once was, what with the sea inundating Old Cardiff, but it was one of the last of the magical places before Merlin brought back magic to the universe.” 

Samara wondered why Jack hadn’t taken trees from Ddraig Llyn, but didn’t ask. She was certain her son had good reason to.

Ianto glanced up at the trees.  “Back before we retired, I came here when I wanted to Name dragon friends.  The old magic is still here, and it witnesses the Naming, making it official.” He shrugged.  “Of course, now that Jack and I live back on Earth, I do all my Naming in Ddraig Llyn, but this park served its purpose while he and I were here.”  He chuckled.  “There are even a couple of the Fae here, living among these ancient trees.  I know Jack was a bit upset by that, but they only accompanied the trees that had been their home for more millennia than anyone can count.”

She’d been told the story of the Fae. Samara wasn’t certain that having them on Hubworld was such a good idea, and said so.

“Away from Earth, they have no real power over anyone,” he assured her.  “They cannot take Chosen Ones or threaten Hubworld with destruction.  Their Pacts won’t allow them to.”

_“And we are content here, Ancient One.”_

The sibilant voice caused Samara to jump, and it was only Ianto’s hand in hers that kept her in her seat.

Suddenly standing before them was a being that might have been green, but its skin was turned lurid by the red light from the sun dappling through the trees.  It had gossamer wings, which kept it hovering over the ground with a sound like an insect’s buzzing.  The large eyes were dark, and it had a mouthful of sharp teeth that were bared in a ghastly smile. 

Ianto nodded.  “I’m glad that’s so, Jasmine.”

The creature – the Fae – its name was Jasmine?

“You know if you and your cohort ever decide to return to Earth that I’ll make sure you get there.”

 _“We understand that, but this place is new, and magical, and we are thriving here even without any new Chosen Ones.”_ The Fae called Jasmine bowed.  _“And welcome, Mother of the Undying One.  Your son once did us a service, and we have not yet been able to honour that debt.  This promise also falls upon you.”_

Samara didn’t know what to say about that, so she simply thanked Jasmine, inclining her head to the Fae. 

The Fae nodded, and in a puff of flower petals was gone, the sweet scent of roses surrounding them and tickling Samara’s nose.

“Jasmine doesn’t always come out like that,” Ianto replied. 

“Should I be honoured?”

He huffed a laugh.  “With the Fae, you can never tell.”  He got to his feet.  “Let me take you back to Phillip and Clint’s home,” Ianto offered, still holding onto her hand.  “They’re both quite worried about you.”

She let him pull her to her feet.  “Thank you, for coming after me.”  She did feel much lighter than before, even if nothing had really been settled.

“It was my pleasure.” 

“You’re going to have to tell me just how you know that Fae’s name, though.”

Ianto shook his head.  “It’s a long story, but I’m sure it can be arranged.”

He squeezed her hand, and then led her through the trees and back toward her family.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm only posting one chapter today, because of time and the fact that the next two chapters really should be posted together.

 

**_18 August 5115 (Earth Standard Time)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

“I need to see him.”

Samara didn’t know if that was such a good idea, and told Jack so.

“I need to know before I decide what to tell Ianto about that promise you asked him for,” her son said.  “If he’s that far gone…”

“Jack,” she sighed, taking him into a hug.  She could feel him trembling in her arms, and she quite suddenly hated Gray for what he’d done to his own brother, even though it wasn’t really her younger son’s fault.  His mind had been destroyed by his captivity, and while she still had some hope that Gray might be redeemable there was still that chance that he was too far gone for anything that they did to work.

Jack and Ianto had met them at the Tower that morning, in the security suite where Phillip would be watching.  He’d reported that Gray had had a relatively quiet night, and had only been given minimal sedation since he’d appeared so calm, even when the doctors were in to examine him.  He hadn’t been exactly cooperative, but at least he hadn’t fought them on anything.

“Let me go in first,” she suggested, pulling away but leaving her hands on his shoulders.  “I want to gauge his mood today.  If he seems to be calm, then come on in, alright?”

“I can do that,” he agreed.  “I’ve seen the recordings of the last couple of days, and know he’s not exactly going to be glad to see me…”

She couldn’t lie to him about it, and so she simply nodded.  “Clint, you’re going to be with me today?”

Her grandson nodded.  He was again wearing his Torchwood uniform, with his bow over his shoulder.  “You’re not going in there alone, Gran.”

Honestly, she was glad of it, even though it potentially put him in danger from his own uncle.  Still, she wasn’t about to share their relationship with Gray. 

“Phillip and I will be out here, watching on the screens,” Ianto reassured his mate, resting a hand in the small of Jack’s back.  That touch seemed to settle him, and Jack nodded in response. 

Phillip was nodding in agreement.  Samara had explained to both Clint and his mate just what she’d asked Ianto yesterday in the park, and they’d both understood her reasoning behind it.  Phillip had assured her, that, if for some reason Ianto wasn’t able to give her that promise, that he would.  Clint had smirked and then kissed Phillip, fondly calling him a badass.

It was just another example that their family was willing to look out for each other, and if one of them couldn’t then someone else would take up the cause.

Samara had no idea how she’d been so blessed by her family, but she thanked the Goddess every day for all of them.

She hugged each and every one of them, and then headed back to Gray’s room, Clint at her heels, his presence comforting her in ways she couldn’t even begin to describe.

The same two guards were on the door, and they acknowledged them as they walked closer.  “Good morning,” the right-hand man greeted as he turned to disengage the lock. 

Samara wished him a good morning as well as she pushed the door open.  For the first time there was a nurse in the room beyond, and he nodded as he passed out of the door, to leave them alone with Gray.

Clint took up his position against the wall once more, as Samara claimed the chair that was still beside the bed.  Gray was watching her closely, his dark eyes wary as she sat.  “You came back,” he said, sounding somewhat surprised.

“Of course I did.  You’re my son, and I’m not about to abandon you.”  She was slightly shocked at his reaction to her, and it was all she could do not to lean forward and rest her hand on his. 

“Haven’t you already?” He rolled his eyes in disgust.

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

He shrugged as best he could with his hands restrained.

“Gray, have you given any thought to what I said yesterday?”  She held her breath, waiting for him to answer.

Once again, he shrugged.  “What else do I have to do around here?  Torchwood’s not about to let me go.”

“And you know why.”

“Because I’m such a danger to everyone?” he asked, sounding incredulous.

“You can’t be blind to the threat you pose to anyone innocent enough to get in your way.”

“I’m only a threat to the ones who think my brother is worth something to them.” The dismissal in his voice cut across Samara’s heart like a knife.

“Which is everyone here,” she pointed out.  “You can understand why they’d want to keep you away from anyone else.”

“So I’m never getting out of here.”  The expression on his face was actually proud. 

“You will if you prove you’re no longer a danger.”

“Then I’m never going to get these off.”  He shook the restraints on his wrists.

Samara despaired at just that, but couldn’t let him see it in her.  She hadn’t expected a miraculous recovery, after all.  Perhaps it was time to let Phillip bring his therapists into this? She certainly wasn’t doing her son any good.

“I wanted to let you know,” she said slowly, “that this is the last time I’ll be coming in to see you.”

Gray huffed a tired laugh. “And here you said you weren’t going to abandon me.”

She didn’t like having her words thrown back at her, but she replied, “I’m not.  However, I’m not what you need right now.”  He needed professional help, and Samara felt as if she was simply making things worse.

“And just what do I need, Mother?” he sneered, baring his teeth at her.

“Whatever it is,” she confessed, “it’s not me.”  It was a heavy confession to make.  All Samara wanted to do was bring her boy back, but she was beginning to suspect that wasn’t going to happen using her current methods.  “I thought I could convince you to stop blaming your brother for something he wasn’t responsible for, but I don’t think that’s going to work.  It’s time for you to speak to someone who’s not so…emotionally compromised, when it comes to you and Jamys.”

“I’m never going to stop blaming him, Mother,” Gray hissed, straining forward.  “He’s the reason behind everything that happened to me.  Someday, I’m going to get out of this place, and I’ll track him down.  I’m going to make his life a hell, in payment for what mine’s been like!  And you’re not going to be able to talk me out of it.”

Samara wanted to weep, for her youngest who so hated his own brother; and that brother, who was watching on the surveillance cameras in the security centre, and who had to be aching with what Gray was spewing at him, even though he couldn’t possibly know that Jack was hearing all this. 

Instead, she simply stood, knowing that she didn’t dare show weakness in front of her damaged baby boy.  If he saw anything like that in her, he would leap to the metaphorical kill, no matter that she was his mother. 

She’d already proved that she didn’t hold the same beliefs that he, himself, did.  Samara had this feeling that she’d opened herself up for a piece of his revenge as well.

Samara had once wondered what the difference between revenge and vengeance was.  Ianto had replied, “Vengeance is only against the person who wronged you.  Revenge often has collateral damage, most of that on purpose.”

The hope was still there, that somehow they could get Gray back on the path to his family, but Samara now knew that Phillip had placed his trust in the wrong person.  She couldn’t handle this.  There wasn’t a thing she could do but let a professional do their job, and then when she could actually do the most to help Gray, she could step back in. 

This wasn’t giving up.  If it had been, she’d have been asking Phillip to put Gray back into cryo-freeze.  No, she just knew what her limits were, and she’d reached them.  All she could do was reiterate her stance on just whose fault it was that Gray had been taken in the first place, and they just weren’t going to agree until a lot of the anger he was feeling was gone. 

Samara ignored him as Gray tried to call her back, his voice begging her to stay.  No, sometimes you just had to walk away, when you weren’t going to be able to do the most good.

“Damn,” Clint said, once the door was closed and locked behind them, “that’s what I call tough love.” 

“I’ve never heard it called that before,” she admitted, her voice shaking, catching his meaning immediately, “but it’s what I had to do.”

She began the trek back to the security centre.  One thing she couldn’t do was let Jack in there.  It might have been several thousand years for him, but the memories were still too strong.  A part of Samara wished he’d forgotten.

They were waiting when they arrived.  Jack immediately hugged her, and she clung to him.  “You can’t go in there,” she murmured.  “It won’t matter what you say…he’ll just hate you even more if he sees you’re happy.”

“Goddess, Mom,” he shuddered against her, “you just did something I could never have done.”

Samara clutched her older son to her, grateful that what Gray had done to him back then hadn’t damaged him, that he was still very much the son she’d almost messed up.  She would thank every god and goddess for that small blessing.

They broke apart almost reluctantly.  Jack gave her a watery smile, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.  They flicked over Samara’s head.  “You’ll make sure he gets the help he needs.”  It wasn’t a question; it was an order from the original Director of the Torchwood Institute, and when she glanced at Phillip she could see he wasn’t at all upset that he was being commanded by Jack. 

“You know I will,” Phillip swore.

Clint put his arm around his mate, and Phillip leaned into the embrace, even though he wasn’t usually prone to enjoying public displays of affection, and they weren’t alone in the security centre.  It just proved that he was as affected as everyone else, even if he hadn’t been there during Gray’s assault on Old Cardiff.

Something must have communicated her confusion to him, because Phillip said, “My nephew was involved in Gray’s original attack.  He was injured very badly.”

Jack nodded.  “I remember that.  Patrick was a good man…and a good son-in-law.”

There was a story there, one that Samara very much wanted to know.  She would have to ask about it later.  Now, she wanted to leave, and not hear Gray’s pleas in her head anymore.

It was time for a retreat, and to let those more versed in helping Gray with his issues to take over.  Samara was just too emotionally involved to help her child any longer.

She felt like she was a total failure as a mother.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said yesterday, these next two chapters needed to be posted together. Hope you enjoy. :)

 

**_31 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

Two standard weeks on, and Samara still was depressed. 

She’d been getting regular reports on Gray’s condition.  The psychologists that Phillip had had brought it kept saying it was still early days, after all the years of torture and captivity that Gray had suffered through, but she just couldn’t get past the fact that they really weren’t getting anywhere.  Most of the sessions either ended with Gray screaming the doctors out of the room, or his completely ignoring them and not saying anything.  He did ask after her once, but then seemingly gave up, and that broke her heart more than anything else. 

According to the professionals, Gray might have been in an adult body, but his mind was still basically trapped in a child-like mindset, which made it harder for them to make any sort of breakthrough.  After he’d been captured his mind had been so damaged it had never really matured, and thus it was even more difficult to reason with him.  The logic of children could be a very stubborn thing to shift.

It was hard to keep to her decision to stay away.  Maybe she was being a coward in not facing her son, but Samara just couldn’t do it.  It was bad enough that every time she closed her eyes she could still see his fury and pain radiating from him.  She didn’t sleep well at all, and nothing anyone did or said helped.

She wasn’t the only one suffering.  Each time she saw Jack, he was paler and more haggard than the last, and Samara was beginning to suspect that asking to have Gray brought out of suspension had been a mistake.  It was tearing her elder son apart, and apologising to him just didn’t seem to be enough to make up what this was doing to him.  It added to the load of guilt she carried, weighing her down as if she’d put a load of stones in her pockets. 

The fact that Jack had acceded to Ianto’s making the promise to her to prevent Gray from hurting anyone didn’t alleviate any of that heaviness that made her heart ache constantly.

Too many times she’d considered having Phillip put Gray back into cryo-freeze.  Nothing they were doing seemed to be helping him at all.  Intellectually she was aware that this wasn’t going to be a swift process, that there were simply too many years of damage to undo, but in her heart and soul she just wanted her son back. 

Samara had to face the prospect that she might never have Gray back in her life, ever again.

And yet, there was that part of her that rejoiced in knowing he was still alive.  That her baby boy had been rescued from the raiders who’d stolen him away, and no matter what condition he was in at least he was breathing, even if he was hating her and his own brother.  That should be a good thing, right?

Some days it was very hard to convince herself of that.

At least she had her family to support her. 

Samara didn’t always stay with Phillip and Clint, although that was where she spent the majority of her time, close to Torchwood Tower and to Gray…just in case.  She did go back to Ddraig Llyn every couple of days, just to reassure her little grandchildren that she was just fine; and once, Jack and Ianto had brought them all to Hubworld to see their Gran.  None of the smallest ones had spent much time away from the valley, and it had showed in their wide-eyed excitement at finding themselves on another world.  Phillip had taken the day off so he could spend time with them as well, and it was a wonderful memory that Samara would carry with her for the rest of her life.

If only Gray wasn’t hovering over them like a sort of grim ghost, tainting her happiness.

About a week into their stay Nicole had to go back to school, and had left somewhat reluctantly.  When it looked as if she was going to balk at returning to New Avalon, Samara had taken her aside and had told her that everything was going to be fine, and that she couldn’t put her studies on hold like that.  It wasn’t as if they had a time frame on Gray’s therapy, and she’d get too far behind her classmates if she delayed.  Nicole had reluctantly agreed, and the family had seen her off together.

Samara could tell that both Clint and Phillip would miss their daughter dreadfully.

Lisa, however, chose to stay with her adopted brother and his mate.  Her parents were somewhat disappointed, but they hid it well every time Jack and Ianto went back to their valley home.  Yet they were both willing to go along with their child’s wishes, and Samara praised them in private for being such excellent parents, to allow Lisa her own life.  Her words had Ianto blushing and Jack grinning like she’d given him the best present ever. 

Phillip especially seemed to love Lisa being there.  The young dragon would often hang around him, watching him intently as he worked from home, or settling beside him on the sofa as the family enjoyed an entertainment programme.  Samara often caught Clint looking at them fondly, and she wondered when he and Phillip would be having their own children.  He could see both of them with a child that was a combination of them both, and thought she might want to put in a few whispered words in receptive ears.

She still worried about Lisa.  Perhaps it gave her something to do to counteract the overwhelming feelings of helplessness over the situation with Gray.  The little dragon seemed much more relaxed when it was simply the four of them, and the happiness that rolled off her made Samara want to bask in it like a lizard soaking up the sun on a sand dune.  Still, the niggling at the back of her mind led her to speak to both of them after Lisa had gone to bed, and they’d discussed things into the night as to what they could be doing to make her even more at ease with them.

It wasn’t until one night after Samara had once again made a return trip from Ddraig Llyn, that she was given her first major clue as to what could possibly be troubling her young grandchild.

Lisa had gone to take a bath before going to bed, and if Samara hadn’t happened to have run out of the black yarn she’d chosen to make Phillip’s mittens with she never would have seen it.

The golden glow from under the closed bathroom door.

It made her halt in her tracks.  The glow didn’t last long; in fact, as she watched it faded away to nothing, almost making her think she’d imagined it. 

But she knew that glow…she’d seen it often enough in the months she’d come to live with her family…she knew what it meant.

She and Lisa was actually alone in the house; Phillip and Clint had taken the opportunity of having Samara there to ask her to watch Lisa so they could go out for the evening.  As Torchwood usually kept a lot of Phillip’s attention, even when he was ostensibly off for the evening, Clint had decided that it was high time for his mate to have a true night off.

Samara had agreed, of course.  Even though Phillip was immortal, that didn’t mean he was tireless, and she was becoming well aware of just how much time Torchwood ate up in her grandson-by-mating’s life.  Besides, if her plot to get herself even more great-grandchildren was to succeed, then Phillip was going to need to learn how to relax a bit.

It meant that she could confront Lisa without possible witnesses.  And, until she knew what was really going on, Samara felt it better that there not be a chance of an audience for their conversation.

She made her way to Lisa’s bedroom to wait, her thoughts tumbling about in her head.  Things were clicking into place, and yet there was a very large part of the puzzle that Samara was missing.  She didn’t want to frighten the child, but the entire story needed to be told before Samara could act.  There had to be a good explanation for what she realised had gone on behind that closed door, but she also didn’t want Lisa to freak out over Samara needing to know the truth.

This was her chance to fix whatever was going on with her granddaughter, and perhaps make up for the fact that she’d failed so horribly with Gray.

“Gran?”

Samara turned and smiled at Lisa, who was standing in the doorway, her eyes looking slightly confused…and there was a hint of worry there as well.  It hit Samara that this was the opportunity for Lisa to leave her obvious secrets behind.  Would she take it?

Because the little dragon did have secrets.  It had been obvious almost from the moment Samara had met her, in the lounge on Alpha Station.  There had been clues all along, it was just that she had no idea what they pointed to.

She sat amid the cushions on the floor, patting the pillows beside her.  “Come here,” she invited.  She didn’t want to scare her, but Samara could tell that Lisa knew something was going on. 

Still, she accepted the invitation, making herself at home in the small nest of pillows that Clint had set up for her on her first night there.  The wariness had returned to her silver-green cats’ eyes, and it broke Samara’s heart to see it.

Well, there was nothing for it.  Things had to be cleared up, and this was the best time to do it.

And so, Samara bit the proverbial bullet and asked, “Just how long have you had your human form, Lisa?”

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

**_31 August 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

 

The black dragon stilled, as if she’d turned into a statue.  She could practically see the thoughts whirling through Lisa’s head, and she must have been trying to come up with some sort of denial.

“I saw the golden glow under the bathroom door,” Samara went on.  “There’s only one glow that I know of that’s that colour, and it’s from a transformation.” She reached over and placed her hand on Lisa’s shoulder.  “I hope you know you can trust me.”

Lisa slumped under Samara’s hand.  “I do, Gran…”

“How long have you been hiding this?”

“I…I woke up with my human form when I was nine,” the little dragon confessed. 

“Why didn’t you tell someone?”

This had to have been so hard on her, to keep this a secret from her family.  Samara wanted to understand why she’d hidden this for so long.

Lisa was silent for a long time, but Samara could tell it wasn’t because she was trying to come up with a plausible lie to cover herself. 

After a few minutes, she sighed.  A golden glow surrounded her, changing shape until a human-looking child sat on the bed.

She did look to be about fourteen.  As a human, Lisa had black hair that fell to her waist, and the same silver-green eyes of her dragon form, only with round pupils instead of slitted.  Her skin was porcelain pale, and she had high cheekbones and fine features.  She was only wearing a white shift; Samara knew from Ianto that a dragon had to be taught to change their clothes with them, it wasn’t instinctual, but no one would have been able to teach her how to do that.  So, for Lisa to have on any sort of clothes was a small miracle in and of itself.

“I couldn’t,” she whispered, her face hidden behind the curtain of her hair, “because I was afraid I’d be recognised, and I couldn’t risk that.”

Samara frowned.  “What do you mean?”

Lisa shook her head.  “After what I did, I couldn’t…I just couldn’t.” Her voice choked, but there was a note of relief in it, as if she was glad it was finally out in the open.  “I don’t deserve to be happy.”

Samara was confused…but that only lasted for about a minute, when she suddenly put it together, and she cursed herself for not figuring it out sooner.

“Who were you before?”

Because that was what Lisa was…a reincarnated soul, one that must have done something terrible to at least one member of the family, and there she was…surrounded by people who might have considered her an enemy. 

Lisa didn’t answer.  Samara did the only thing she could of: she gathered the now human-shaped dragon in her arms and hugged her fiercely, determining that, no matter what Lisa told her, she was going to accept her as her granddaughter. 

“It doesn’t matter to me what you’ve done in a previous life,” Samara tried to reassure her. “You’re still going to be my wonderful Lisa.  That life is over; this is the one you have now.  It doesn’t matter because you can start over.” 

There was a choked sob, and Lisa was collapsing into tears, great whoops echoing through the room as she wailed her agony and fear into violent existence.  Samara held her, attempting to soothe her with quiet words of assurance and love, wishing she could take this pain from her and spare her from it.  Her heart was breaking for this dear child, who’d thought she’d done something so horrible that she’d been afraid to admit who she really was to the very people who loved her the most.

She wasn’t about to fail someone else.  She’d already done that with Gray; there was no way she was going to do the same with Lisa.  Samara would hold her for as long as it would take.  She had all the time in the universe.

Eventually, Lisa began to calm within the circle of Samara’s arms.  “I messed up your shirt,” she hiccupped softly, nestling into Samara’s embrace.

“It washes,” she answered, not caring as long as Lisa was alright.  “Do you think you can explain things to me now?  I think you’ll feel better if you do.”

Lisa nodded against her chest.  The child sighed, then pulled away just a little, getting a bit more comfortable against her grandmother. 

“I…I started having dreams when I was really young, but I didn’t know what they were about, only that they were horrible.  Blood and magic and death…I didn’t understand that I was seeing myself in a previous life until I was just a bit older.  I’m sure Dad and Tad will tell you about the times I’d wake up screaming…”

They had, back when Samara had first come to stay, when they were explaining about the issues that their adopted children had been having.  Ianto had believed that Lisa’s nightmares had been of her life before she’d been magically preserved in her egg; but that had just been proved to be wrong. 

“The nightmares stopped after a while,” Lisa went on, “but I started having these…thoughts.  All I knew was that they weren’t _right_.  They weren’t what I’d experienced ever since waking up in Ddraig Llyn.  I was angry, because something inside me was telling me that I was being ignored, and that was wrong…I wasn’t, Dad and Tad love me!  I just kept thinking that it would change, and someday they’d just…I don’t know, Gran.  I couldn’t trust them to stay the way they were.”

“They’ll always love you, sweetheart.”  Samara tried to swallow her sudden anger at whoever had once treated Lisa’s former life so badly.  She wished she could steal some sort of time machine, find them, and give them a piece of her mind. 

“Yeah,” Lisa agreed.  “No matter what they did, I just didn’t believe in them.  I couldn’t help myself…”

“When did you finally realise what was going on?”

“I…” she swallowed hard.  “It was just before I gained my human form.  When I suddenly occurred to me that Arthur would know me the moment I turned human…because I’d grown up with him, you see.  And there was a chance that Merlin might as well, even though he didn’t see me as a child.”

Samara’s heart went into his throat at the admission.   That would mean that Lisa was the reincarnation of the one person that Arthur and Merlin might not want to see, not after what she’d done to them in their first lives.

Lisa was the reincarnation of Morgana le Fay, the woman who had been responsible for Arthur’s downfall and eventual death. 

“Oh you poor thing,” she rocked Lisa, tears choking her.  This was possibly the worst thing that could have happened.  She could certainly understand so many things now: her hiding from Arthur and Merlin; her uncertainty toward Ianto and Jack – from the histories, Uther Pendragon, Morgana’s father, hadn’t been exactly the best parent in the universe, having been so invested in his first-born son that he’d dismissed his own daughter.  Morgana had been eventually driven to try to take Camelot, first from Uther and then from Arthur, leading to the Battle of Camlann and Arthur’s demise.

“I couldn’t say anything!” Lisa whimpered.  “I couldn’t risk losing the only family I’d ever had that actually cared about me!  I don’t want to be Morgana…I want to be Lisa!”

“And that’s who you are.”  Samara pulled back just enough, to look her granddaughter in the eye.  “You are Lisa Harkness-Jones, the daughter of Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones.  They love you, and they won’t care who you were in a former life as long as you’re happy in this one.”

“Are you sure?” Her eyes were red and puffy, but she looked at Samara with such hope she swore that she would force Jack and Ianto to accept her if it came down to that.  Not that she thought it would; they’d proved just how much they cared about Lisa’s well-being just by letting her stay with Phillip and Clint when it had been obvious that they really had wanted her to rely on them instead, putting her needs first.

And now, Samara could see why Lisa, while adoring Clint, had still been slightly wary around him.  He, also, was a reincarnation, and should have recognised the signs in his little sister.  Still, that didn’t explain the other wariness she’d expressed around other members of her family, and she said so.

“Ianto – Tad – had once met Merlin and Arthur in their first life,” she explained.  “There was always a chance that he might have seen some sort of likeness of me as Morgana.  I couldn’t risk that.  With Nicole…she’s magic.  So was I, back then.  I didn’t want her to see that in me.”

“But you adore Phillip.”

Lisa nodded.  “His magic is different, and I didn’t think there was a danger of him noticing it in me, although I don’t think there is any.”  Then she blushed slightly.  “But…he…the only one true memory I have of my dragon family is the one of my father as he was preparing me for the egg.  Phillip…resembles him closely.  He’s always put me at ease because of it.”

That made Samara wonder if Phillip, himself, was a reincarnation, this one of Lisa’s biological father, and simply didn’t have those memories.  It would also be another reason why Lisa was so comfortable with him, more than anyone else in the family.

A dragon reincarnated as a human was a twist Samara could get behind.  It was truly apt for this family.

“Lisa,” she said, “we’re going to need to tell everyone – “

“No, Gran!  Please!” Her eyes began to fill with tears.  “I can’t!  I don’t want to lose my family now that I’ve found them!”

“You’re not going to lose them.”  Samara was absolutely certain of that.  “If Merlin and Arthur are upset by it, I just know that your Dad and Tad will talk them round.  Plus, there’s Phillip and Clint, and they’ll never give up on you.  You can trust them, Lisa.”  She didn’t call her Morgana, not after her vehement statement about wanting to be Lisa. 

“Yes, Lisa,” a soft voice came from the open door, “you can trust us.”

Samara hadn’t even heard Phillip and Clint come home.

Her grandson and his mate were in the doorway, Clint’s arms wrapped around Phillip from behind, his chin resting on his mate’s shoulder, tears in his eyes.  Phillip also looked soft and sad, the ice-blue in his eyes melted and warm. 

“How much did you hear?” Samara asked.  She wasn’t at all concerned about their reaction, just from their expressions.

“Nearly all of it,” Phillip admitted.  “I believe we missed the emotional beginning though.” 

Lisa was practically cowering in Samara’s embrace, but her eyes were so full of hope that it made Samara’s chest hurt to see it.  Phillip stepped out of Clint’s arms and knelt in front of her, taking Lisa’s hands in his.  “I don’t care who you were back in another life,” he said as Clint moved behind his mate, resting his hands on Phillip’s shoulders.  “You’re Lisa now, and we love you.”

“I can help you,” Clint added. “I’ve been through the whole, ‘I have all sorts of weird memories in my head’ thing, and I think we can get you through it.  If you’ll let us.”

In seconds, Lisa tackling Phillip, crying into his shoulder.  Only this time the tears were one of joy, at the secret that had been so heavy in her soul being out in the open and they weren’t turning her away.  Samara couldn’t help the bright smile that bloomed across her face as both her grandsons held onto Lisa as she cried, accepting her willingly and offering her the comfort she so desperately needed. 

Things could only get better now. 

It was at least one thing Samara hadn’t so completely failed at.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about not posting Saturday, but AO3 was down when I got up, and by the time it was back up I was at work. I'm afraid there's only one chapter today, I don't have time to put up two like I'd planned.

 

**_1 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Ddraig Llyn_ **

****

“So that’s what’s been going on,” Ianto marvelled.  “And we didn’t even see it.”

“We were too close,” Jack said. 

They sat on the sofa in their lounge, with Lisa between them, and in her human form.  Her eyes were wide, marvelling at their acceptance of who she’d once been…just as Samara had known they would.

Phillip had taken a partial day off so he and Clint could be there when they spoke to Jack and Ianto, as moral support for Lisa as she explained her situation to them.  They’d been quiet and let her tell it in her own way, and then they’d both embraced her tightly, apologising for not seeing it sooner.

If Lisa hadn’t already loved them, this would have tipped her over the edge.

Samara was so proud of them both she wanted nothing more than to hug the literal stuffing out of them.

Not that she’d doubted them, of course. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner,” Lisa apologised.  “I was just so afraid…”

“We can understand that, sweetheart,” Jack answered.  “You’re dealing with the previous memories of your family back then, and what you’d done…there’s no way we can blame you for that.”

“We’re going to talk to Arthur and Merlin,” Ianto promised.  “I know Arthur’s always had regrets for losing his sister back during his previous life, so I can’t help but think he’s going to be overjoyed knowing that she’s back in some way.”

“And now you have to decide what you’d like to be called,” Jack added.  “Everyone we’ve known who had previous lives so far has gone back to their original names…”

“No,” she said determinedly.  “I want to be Lisa.  Morgana is in the past, and I don’t think I like the person she was very much.”

Ianto tugged her back into his arms.  “It wasn’t all her fault.”  He looked so very happy that she’d chosen to keep the name they’d given her. 

“And you’re in different circumstances now,” Phillip added.  “You’re in a family that loves you very much and isn’t afraid to show it…unlike your family as Morgana.  We’ll all make sure you don’t fall back into that old mindset.”

Lisa’s eyes were incandescent with tears of sheer joy.  “I thought for so long that you’d all cast me out or something...”

“Never,” Jack vowed.  “You’re ours.  And we’re yours.  We’re never letting you go.”

It was yet another happy ending.  Samara was getting used to them, and it was a heady thing to feel.  If only Gray had turned out as well…

Something in her expression must have communicated to Jack, because he was off the sofa and wrapping his arms around her.   “It’s going to be okay, Mom.”

Samara sighed.  She really wanted to believe that, but the evidence spoke to the contrary.  Gray was lost to them now, if what the reports Phillip had been passing along was true. 

But this was something.  This, right there, in that moment, was something good.  It proved to Samara that she could go something within this wonderful family to repay them for accepting her so readily.  Helping Lisa to face the past life that had haunted her was worth it all.

Jack pulled back but kept one arm around her.  Samara felt at peace in that moment, as she looked around the room at the members of her family there.  She loved them all, whether they were related to her by birth or by mating.  It didn’t matter to her at all.

“I do have one question,” Ianto asked Lisa.  “You’ve always been so comfortable around Phillip…”

“That’s because he looks like my dragon father,” she answered.  “His human face is about the only thing I remember from before the shell.  It’s like being with him all over again.”

Phillip crouched down in front of her.  “You know I’m not your true father, though…”

“I know.”  She shrugged.  “But it was like having him in my life again, and I kept hoping you’d wipe out all the bad memories I had of Uther and my time at Camelot.”  Lisa suddenly went shy.  “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all,” Phillip replied.  “And a part of me wishes I were your father.  But Jack and Ianto are that for you now, and I’m just happy being in your life.”

She reached over and threw her arms around him, and Phillip returned the hug happily. 

Samara surreptitiously wiped the tears from her eyes.  Maybe she should suggest to Jack and Ianto that Lisa go and live with Clint and Phillip…she was certainly the most comfortable there.

However, her circumstances had changed now.  Lisa had confessed the secret that she’d been carrying, and Clint would be there to help her deal with the disparate memories that were in her head.  Plus, she’d lived in their household now for the last couple of weeks, and knew just how busy Phillip was with Torchwood.

That wasn’t going to stop her from suggesting they start a family, though.  Both of them had been excellent with Lisa, and she was certain they’d make excellent parents.  She also was aware that Clint was perfectly capable of bearing children…

Still, they had plenty of time for a family.  Samara just hoped it would be within her lifetime, as long as it was going to be.  She was in her sixties, but the human lifespan was well over two hundred years now.  She could still even have children of her own if she chose to.

No, she’d already done that, and one of them was lost to her now, even though Gray wasn’t dead.  Samara didn’t want to put herself through losing another child ever again.

“I need to get back to Hubworld,” Phillip said, standing.  “Lisa, are you going to be alright here now?”

The young dragon nodded.  “Yes, I’m going to be fine.”  She smiled sunnily up at him.  “But I’m still going to come and stay with you and Clint again some time!” Lisa blushed.  “If that’s alright…”

“It’s fine, sweetheart,” Clint assured her.  “You can come anytime.  It’ll let me help you with the whole reincarnation thing.  But you really need to get things worked out with Arthur and Merlin.”

“I know,” she said solemnly.  “I’m still afraid though.”

“We’re going to be right here with you,” Ianto promised.  “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“I’m going to go back to Hubworld as well,” Samara said.  She wanted to stay close to Gray, even if she couldn’t see him.

Lisa looked disappointed, but she nodded.  “You helped me, Gran.  You’ll be able to help Uncle Gray as well.”  She said it with the utmost confidence of the very young…or the very certain.

Samara just wished she felt the same.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

**_1 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

The house seemed far too quiet with Lisa gone back to Ddraig Llyn.

Phillip had parted company with her and Clint at the transmat station, heading back to the Tower and to his duties as Director.  Clint had been happy to escort Samara back to their home, however he’d stopped off at a small sandwich shop on the way to pick up lunch for them.  There were so many different places to eat around the Tower, and Clint explained that the restaurants usually did a booming business with the Torchwood employees, who hailed from so many different worlds that there were businesses that catered to a lot of them. 

“Honestly,” Clint said as they walked toward the brownstone where he and Phillip lived, “are you alright?”

Samara sighed.  “Honestly?  I don’t know, Clint.  It’s been so hard, knowing there really isn’t anything that can be done for Gray…if there isn’t a breakthrough, I don’t know what to do.  Would it be best to put him back into cryo-freeze?  Or should we transfer him to somewhere he won’t be able to hurt anyone if he does get out of custody?”

She’d been giving it a great deal of thought, and there really wasn’t an easy solution.  Perhaps there would be another chance in the future?  The best analysts in the Twelve Galaxies had come in to weigh in on Gray’s ability to come back to sanity…or at least as close to sanity as could be done with the current procedures, and the reports all stated that they weren’t really getting anywhere with him. 

“Gran,” he said, as they approached the front stoop, “there are times when there just isn’t anything you _can_ do.”

Clint let them into the house with his palm print and password, ushering her inside and into the lounge as she mulled over what he’d said.  It was true…she really _couldn’t_ do anything.  Maybe it would be best if she left it in Phillip’s hands, in his position as Director of the Torchwood Institute, under which Gray was technically in custody. 

A really large part of her wanted to do just that.  To let someone else take care of things, so she wouldn’t have to worry about consequences or guilt or her utter failure as a mother.  But the thing was, she wasn’t a trained professional.  She was only a woman with a son who’d been destroyed mentally by events beyond anyone’s control, and Gray was blaming the only person he believed had the actual control…when Jack hadn’t.  If anyone had, it would have been Franklin, but even her dead husband hadn’t been behind the actual attack that had set the terrible events into motion in the first place.  Gray should be blaming the raiders, and not his older brother, for what had been done to him. 

But Gray wasn’t rational. And, chances were, he never would be again.

Samara knew she would never get over this.  The happiness she’d felt over Lisa’s healing couldn’t touch the pain she felt over Gray. 

“You’re not blaming yourself, are you?” Clint asked shrewdly, sitting beside her.

“No,” she admitted.  “I should have known I wouldn’t be able to really help him get better.”   Samara patted him on the hand.  “And don’t worry…I don’t blame Phillip either for his faith in my motherly abilities.”

Clint snorted.  “No, I think Phillip’s blaming himself enough already.  He’d been so sure you could bring Uncle Gray back from the brink…but I don’t think anyone really knew how far gone he was, despite Dad and Tad’s stories and the actual files on the case.”  One side of his mouth quirked upward in a sweet smile.  “But then, Phillip’s a lot more optimistic than even he likes to admit.  He puts out this image of a competent, driven, and in many ways cynical man in control, but I think we all know he’s really not all that.”

“Well,” Samara said, “he certainly is driven.”  She’d seen first-hand his dedication to his position as Torchwood’s Director.

“And competent,” Clint added, sighing dreamily.  “He’s always been that.”

She elbowed him playfully.  “I don’t really want to know about your kinks, Clint Jones!”

Her grandson laughed.  “And here I thought you were an open-minded individual!”

Laughing along with him, Samara felt her mood lighten just a little.  “Your parents raised you right, you know.”

Clint nodded.  “They did.  But I think I was also lucky in that I pretty easily was able to reconcile the memories of my former life with this one.  I don’t know if Lisa’s going to have such a smooth time of it.  Her life as Morgana was just too fraught with evil deeds, more than mine ever was.  Plus, I knew I was waiting for Phillip to match his experiences up with mine.  Lisa doesn’t have anyone to wait for.  I’m hoping I’ll be able to help her to get through the rough patches.”

“I’m sure you will be,” she said confidently.  “And, you won’t be alone in that.”

He blushed faintly at her praise of him. “I just wish there’s a way I can help you, Gran.”

“You are, Clint,” she said.  “It might not seem like it, but you really are.”  It was true.  Just having him there, trying to take on the weight of her issues, was enough. 

He didn’t look as if he believed her, though. 

Before Samara could come up with anything else to say, Clint was off the sofa and heading toward the kitchen.  “I’m famished,” he said over his shoulder.  “Let’s eat those sandwiches we picked up.”

Samara leaned back into the sofa, and agreed.

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to post one today, and then I think the last three tomorrow. I'd do it all today but, once again, I don't have time. Then I'll start the last story of the trilogy on Friday.

 

**_1 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

 

It was early in the afternoon when Samara decided to get out of the house and quit “brooding”, as Clint was fond of telling her she was doing.

She wandered Gliese City, not really paying attention to her surroundings.  The red sunlight was becoming normal for her, and she basked in it a bit as she walked.  It wasn’t quite as warm as she was used to, but that was fine; she knew she’d become acclimatised to it the longer she spent on Hubworld.

It was just wasn’t certain how much longer that would be.

There really wasn’t all that much keeping her there, if Samara was being honest with herself.  She’d been primarily staying for Gray, but she hadn’t seen him in a couple of weeks now.  The news she kept getting from Phillip wasn’t encouraging.  Gray wasn’t reacting to the treatment like she’d hoped, and there really wasn’t much Samara could do about it.

She did think about going to see him again, but would it do her baby boy any good?  Did this mean she really was giving up on him?  Was there a point in time when the law of diminishing returns would kick in, and other decisions would have to be made?

Somehow, Samara had ended up back in the park she’d found a couple of weeks ago.  The bench was empty, and so she sat once again under the canopy of leaves.  The biologist in her examined the trees, thinking that they certainly didn’t look their venerable years; even though she didn’t doubt that Ianto had spoken truly about Jack bringing them from Earth and planting them there, the sorts of trees these resembled usually didn’t gain their current great age.  She wondered if it had to do with the genetic tampering that had to have been done on them to make them able to survive on Hubworld.  Or maybe it was the magic that surrounded them.

Sometimes she wished she had the slightest bit of magic in her.  Her entire family was, in some small way, magical.  Even Jack, who hadn’t been born with a single bit of power within him, had been subtly changed enough to have a dragon form at times…although, after he’d told her how it had happened, Samara wouldn’t have wished that on anybody.

_“Welcome back, Mother of the Undying One.”_

Samara started.  She hadn’t even heard the Fae approach, and yet there it was, kneeling on the ground just in front of her, wings outstretched.  “Jasmine, right?”

Ianto had explained about Jasmine, the little girl that he and Jack had given up to the Fae in order to prevent the Earth from being destroyed, and who, later on, had been their Fae contact during one of Earth’s many alien invasions.  It was hard to grasp that the creature before her had once been a human child.

The Fae bowed, and while it could have been mocking it somehow wasn’t.  _“As the Ancient One insists.  Although I have long ago shaken off that frail, human skin.  I shall answer to it.”_

Samara barely managed to keep from roll her eyes at the patronising response.  “Is there something you’d prefer to be called?” she inquired, just to prove that it never hurt to be polite.

The creature bared her needle-like teeth at her in a ghastly smile.  _“Nay, this shall do.”_ She sat completely on the grass, tucking her feet under her thighs.  _“What brings you back to these woods, Lady?  Have you come to ask us to discharge our debt?”_

One more thing that Ianto had told her about: this so-called debt the Fae claimed they owed both Jack and the dragon for saving all the children millennia ago.  “I just wanted the peace.”  And it _was_ peaceful there, the sounds of the city somehow muffled by the trees. Or maybe it was the magic.

Jasmine nodded.  _“This is a good place.”_

“Is that why you came here?” Samara was genuinely curious as to why the Fae were so far from their home planet. 

The Fae shook her head.  _“We came because the Ancient One and his mate came.”_

“I thought there was no love lost between the Fae and the other races.”

_“The Undying One brought a small part of our home here.  It is a connection to where we are from.”_

It wasn’t really much of an answer, but Samara was willing to accept it.  Ianto had been adamant that the Fae would only speak the truth when it served them, but they would always keep to their Pacts.  “Can you tell me about your home?”

 _“All Fae are of the Lost Lands,”_ Jasmine answered.  _“It is where magic thrives, and where we take all of our Chosen Ones, where they neither wither nor fade, and are happy.”_

“But they become like you?”

Jasmine smiled her grisly smile once more.  _“I am now strong, and no human can hurt me.  I am loved and cared for, where in my life as a human child that was not the case.  I was healed of my pain and am no longer alone.”_

“Don’t you miss your home though?”

 _“This place is different.”_ The Fae shrugged.  _“We live in all times, so although I am here now, I am also back home.”_

Alright, that didn’t make a lot of sense, but then it seemed like Jasmine enjoyed speaking in a roundabout way.  It was almost like listening to the Great Dragons, and it made Samara wonder if every magical creature with an attachment to Earth was like that.  Even Ianto would do it, every once in a while.

 _“We are also here until the Undying One and the Ancient One’s debt is discharged,”_ Jasmine went on.  _“We serve as reminder of that debt.”_

“Wait…so you’re here until Jack and Ianto ask you for whatever favour they need from you?”  Samara wondered if they knew that. 

_“Indeed.  This piece of Roundstone Wood has become a portal for us…and once that debt is gone, this shall be closed and the trees will continue on in their life cycle.”_

Well, that explained why the trees had lasted so long in their new environment.  “You mean they stay this way until you and the Fae present here go home?”

Jasmine nodded.  _“These trees shall not wither or change until the last of the Fae leave this place.”_

Samara wondered if Jack had known that when he’d brought the trees from their original ground.  She was certain he hadn’t, and that he’d done it for Ianto, but that decision had changed these plants even more than the genetic manipulation that made them able to survive under the red primary. 

_“The bones of this world are good and strong.  They will support us until the time has come.”_

“What happens if they never do that?” 

_“Then we shall be here until the planet cracks and the sun eats the remains.”_

She was a bit appalled by that answer.  Certainly, a star like Gliese had a lifespan still of millions of years, compared to Earth’s own billions.  Basically, Jasmine was saying they were trapped there until either Jack or Ianto got off their arses and asked the Fae to discharge the debt. 

Ianto certainly had to know.  The dragon was well-versed in the history of Earth and all its lifeforms, and he’d made it plain that neither he nor Jack would ever be asking the Fae for anything.  They were basically holding the Fae captive to their need not to ask them to help. 

The Fae were spiteful and capricious, but Samara knew that they were as much bound by their Pacts as Ianto was to his family.  Samara could understand the dragon not wanting to be beholden to them, but they were beholden to _him_ , and it wasn’t fair.

She was about to say just that when the comm that Clint had given her before she’d left the house beeped in her pocket.  Samara frowned and pulled it out, activating it.  “Yes?”

 _“Gran,”_ Clint’s voice sounded over the tiny speaker, _“you need to get to the Tower.  Right now.”_

Her heart lurched in sheer panic.  “What happened?”

_“It’s Gray…”_

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, as promised, are the last three chapters. Starting tomorrow is "A Mother's Life", the last story in Jack's Mom's trilogy.

 

**_1 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

“He tried to escape,” Phillip said.

Samara felt the blood leave her face at the announcement.  She sank into the guest chair in Phillip’s office as Jack and Ianto stood behind her, listening as Phillip went on.

“As you know from the reports, Gray had been unresponsive for the last two days.  One of the nurses who went in to check on him went to adjust the restraints…and he killed him.  From there, Gray took out the two guards on the door, killing one of them as well and critically injuring the second.  He got as far as the security centre before he was stopped.”

Phillip looked tired.  “Samara, you’re his mother…it’s up to you what we do next.  It’s become apparent that we can’t keep him restrained all the time…but we can’t release him, because of the danger he represents.  And pumping him full of sedatives isn’t the way to go, either.”  He sighed.  “I’m so sorry for even suggesting we bring him out of cryogenic suspension.  I honestly believed we could help him…but nothing we’ve done has worked.  He’s still determined to blame Jack for what happened to him, and when he was overpowered and taken back to his room he kept shouting for Jack to come and face him.  Pretty much called him every name he could think of, in about half a dozen languages.”

Samara forced back the sob that rose in her chest.  She’d known it would come down to this…at this point, Gray was beyond their best efforts to save.  It didn’t matter what she told him, or the doctors, or the therapists…he just kept blaming Jack for his capture. 

“I’ll talk to him.”  She couldn’t see Jack’s face from where she was sitting, but she could hear the utter defeat in his voice.  His hand came to rest on her shoulder, and Samara reached up and grasped it, needing the support as much as giving it to him as well.

Phillip’s expression was sympathetic.  “Jack, it’s only going to hurt you more if you do…”

“I know.  Phillip, it’s not your fault.  You really did think you could help him.  But Gray’s always going to blame me, and I can’t…”  The sob that Samara has denied exploded from Jack, and she was up and out of her chair with her arms around him, holding him as her eldest son wept, his tears hot against the skin of her neck.

That was all it took for Samara to begin to cry, too.

At that moment though, she wasn’t certain just who she was crying for.  Herself, for failing her second son and losing him?  For Jack, who was being blamed for something he had no control over?  Or for Gray, whose mind had been destroyed by his torturers?  Or maybe for Phillip, who’d had such hope that Samara would be able to turn the tide of Gray’s insanity?

She honestly couldn’t tell.

Another pair of arms encircled them, and Samara knew it was Ianto needing to comfort both his mate and his mother-by-mating.  She let herself accept it, and the three of them stood there, just supporting each other in their misery.

Eventually they disentangled from one another.  Samara stepped back, giving each of her sons a shaky smile before she approached Phillip and hugged him, as well.  The mage started in surprise, but then returned the embrace, the soft fabric of his uniform tunic cool beneath her cheek.

He didn’t let it last for long, and he pulled away, smiling down at her. “Thank you, Samara.”

She punched him lightly in the forearm. “It’s Gran.”

“I feel strange calling a woman so much younger than I am ‘Gran’,” he huffed in laughter.

“No,” she teased, “it’s just beyond your sense of dignity.”

“That, too,” he admitted, smiling. 

“Thank you for trying,” she told him. 

“I almost wish I hadn’t,” Phillip said ruefully.

“We’d be no better off now if Gray had been left in cryo-sleep,” she said.  “At least now we know how badly off he really is.”

“Maybe further into the future things will be different,” Ianto soothed.  “We can put him back in suspension and try again.”

Samara was aware that, if they did that, she’d never see Gray again.  But there really was no choice.  They couldn’t do anything for him now, and keeping him a prisoner was, in the long run, only going to make things worse.  Besides, when that time came Jack would still be around, as would Ianto and Phillip, and they would do everything in their power to help Gray back to the way he should be…

But wait…

That was the issue, wasn’t it?  If Gray came back at all, it would have been in the mindset of the child he’d once been.  After his having been taken away, his mental growth had been stunted…at least according to the reports she’d been given.  He might have gained the knowledge of how to torture and kill, but his emotions were still those of a traumatised little boy.

Could that be the answer?

“Mom?” Jack asked tentatively.  “Are you alright?”

She glanced up at her son, seeing the puzzlement and concern in his eyes.  Both Ianto and Phillip were looking at her with the same expressions, and Samara realised she must have zoned out when the possible solution had presented itself to her.

“I want to see Gray,” she said, a non-answer if ever there was one.  But she couldn’t tell them what was on her mind…not yet, not until she saw Gray one final time.

“Mam,” Ianto sounded hesitant, “what’s on your mind?”

“Maybe another possibility,” she answered.  “I need to see Gray.”

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

 

**_1 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

 

“So, you finally came back.  And it only took me killing two people for that to happen.”

The scorn in Gray’s voice would have had Samara flinching if she wasn’t so determined not to show any weakness to her son.  “Yes, but that only showed me that there’s nothing we can do for you any longer.  You’re sick, Gray, and there’s not a thing we can do to heal you.”

Goddess, she hoped she was right.  She wanted this to work so very badly. 

“You can’t keep me like this,” Gray growled.  “Keeping me chained up like an animal will only make me want to escape and take my revenge on anyone in my way.  And, if you freeze me again, I’ll just wake up later even angrier than I am now.”  He grinned, a rictus, a deaths’ head expression.  “Your doctors aren’t ever going to convince me this isn’t Jamys’ fault, and I will get loose and hunt him down and tear his world apart, like I tried to before.  No one will be able to stop me for long.”

If Samara hadn’t been expecting this diatribe it would have sent her into a fresh wave of tears.  As it was, she simply stood a little taller as she stared down at her lost son, strapped to the bed, as he glared up at her with hatred in his dark eyes.

“Gray,” she said, certainty in her eyes and voice, “you are my son, and I will always love you.  But you cannot keep doing this.  You are wrong, but you just can’t accept it.”

He jerked against the restraints. “I’m not wrong!  Jamys let go of my hand!  He let those bastards take me, and now he’s out there in the universe living his perfect, immortal life while I’m scarred and broken!  He gets the happy ending while I have to live in hell!”

Samara wasn’t about to try to point out to him that Jack’s life was far from perfect, and that his immortality was more a curse than a blessing.  It wouldn’t do any good, and Gray would simply dismiss it. 

Still, she had one more thing to say.

“There’s a third alternative to keeping you here.”

That got her a mad-sounding laugh.  “You’d kill your own child?”

Samara did flinch then, because that had occurred to her, which was why she’d asked Ianto to renew his vengeance vow.  “Alright…a fourth alternative.”

She could imagine Ianto, Jack, and Phillip in the security centre, wondering just what the hell she was talking about.  She hadn’t bothered to explain, because this wouldn’t go over well with at least two of those three dear children.

And so, she spoke a single name.

“Jasmine.”

The scent of roses filled the air as a whirlwind of flower petals came into being at the foot of Gray’s bed.  They exploded all over as the Fae who had once been the girl named Jasmine appeared.

The first thing she did was sneeze.

The second thing she did was bow to Samara.

_“Lady, you have summoned me?”_

The Fae looked out of place in the sterile environment of the secure room, all wildness and capricious nature.  Under the human-tinted lighting her skin was indeed green, her eyes fathomless black and knowing, wings gossamer and glittering. 

Hubworld certainly didn’t fit her.

“Can you keep anyone else from coming in here until we’re finished?” she asked.  She couldn’t have anyone interrupt; not now, when she believed she had the solution to all their problems.

Jasmine made a scoffing noise.  _“None may enter until I allow it, Lady.”_

“Good.”  She turned back to Gray, who was staring at Jasmine, his mouth opened in shock.  “Gray, this is Jasmine.  She’s one of the Fae.” 

“What is this?” Gray sneered, breaking free of his surprise.  “Have you brought in some alien to kill me?  Couldn’t Jamys do it himself?  I always knew he was a coward.”

Samara ignored him, addressing the Fae.  “Jasmine, you told me that you were taken to the Lost Lands and healed.  What did you mean by that?”

The Fae was examining Gray as if he was some interesting bug she’d found somewhere.  _“His mind is much broken.  It would take much to make him whole.”_

Hope flared through her like the sun rising.  “But you can do it?”

 _“This would be what you ask of us?”_ For the first time she’d met the Fae, Jasmine actually looked happy.  _“This would fulfil our debt to you and yours?”_

“Yes, it would…if you could truly do it and this isn’t some sort of trick.”

Jasmine regarded her with those otherworldly eyes.  _“Lady, our Pacts hold us.  When the Ancient One and his mate did us service, that made us indebted to them...and, by extension, their family. We would not break this Pact even if the world was ending.  And, if his mind was not still so very young, we would not be successful even with all the magic at our disposal.  His body is too old to change.”_

Samara had wondered about that, knowing what Ianto had told her about the Fae and their Chosen Ones.  It had been a gamble, thinking that Gray might have been young enough mentally and emotionally to be helped by the Fae, and it looked as if it might have paid off.

Gray was suddenly struggling so hard the bed was shaking.  He was snarling in rage and terror, eyes wide as did everything he could to escape. 

“I don’t want to be healed!” he shouted.  “You can’t take my hate away from me!  It’s all I have!”

 _“He is full of bright rage and dark hate,”_ Jasmine commented.  _“It will take much to do what you ask, Lady.  But, if this is your wish, then we will do what we can.”_

Samara knew this was the only alternative.  Gray had been correct; he would only keep trying to escape, or he’d only come out of cryo-sleep in the future that much angrier than when he’d gone under, and there was no way any of them would take that final step and execute him.  And there was no guarantee that he’d ever be healed by mortal means. 

Maybe it was time for magic.

She only hoped that Jack would, some day, forgive her.

“You can keep him from getting away?”

 _“None may leave the Lost Lands without the permission of the Fae,”_ Jasmine snorted. _“We will only release him once he is healed…if he would wish to return to the mortal world.”_ She gazed up at Samara.  _“Know this, Lady…if your son does not wish to return after we have done for him what we can, then we will not force him.”_

“If he’s healed and wishes to stay, then all I ask is someone tell me.  I can lose him if it means he’ll be back to himself, even if I never see him again.”

Samara didn’t want to give Gray up to the Fae, but this was, to her, the lesser of all four evils.  All she wanted was for him to be happy and healthy once more, and if that meant him staying in the Lost Lands…then so be it. 

“What do I have to do?” she asked.  “What makes this an official request for your Pact?”

Jasmine was practically dancing in place, her joy at having the Fae’s debt paid palpable in the rose-scented air.  _“You must say the words, Lady.  You must say you are calling upon the Fae to fulfil the debt to your family.  Then you must state what we are to do for you.”_

“Alright.”  Samara took a deep breath, feeling deep in her bones that this was the right thing to do. “I am calling upon the Fae to fulfil the debt that they owe to my family.  I wish for my younger son, Herbert Grayson Wells, to be taken to the Lost Lands, to be healed of his madness and hate and to be happy once more.”

_“So mote it be.”_

Samara wasn’t magical by any stretch of the imagination, but even she could sense the power in the words she’d just spoken, and in Jasmine’s response.  The world beneath her feet shifted, just a little bit, and her skin tingled with the magic that it released.  It felt…right.

 _“Thank you, Lady.”_ Jasmine bowed to her once more.  _“While time means nothing to us, we were beginning to despair that our debt would never be discharged.”_

With a beat of her wings, the Fae floated over to where Gray was still thrashing about on the bed.  She reached down and touched his forehead, and he stilled. 

 _“We will do our best for him,”_ Jasmine reiterated.  _“This will be the last time we meet, Lady.  I shall return now to my true home.  But know that you have done a good thing today.  Have no doubt of that.”_

The smell of roses grew once more, and then Jasmine and Gray were gone, and blood-red petals decorated the bed and the floor.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

 

**_2 September 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Gliese 581g (Hubworld)_ **

****

The remains of Roundstone Wood were…different, now that the Fae no longer lived within them.

Samara had taken her usual seat.  Not because she thought Jasmine would appear, but because she wanted to see what changes had occurred now that the Fae’s magic was no longer supporting the unnatural lack of aging in the trees.

The silence was gone; now Samara could make out the traffic sounds beyond the edge of the park, and the rustling of the grass and the wind in the leaves.  The air was also lighter, and it was less dark than it had been.  Samara was glad; it was time for the natural flow of things to return to this place. 

Jack and Ianto both had left Torchwood before Samara had even left the empty room where Gray had once been kept.  Her heart had sunk at their going, but she could understand.  They’d once fought the Fae and lost; both knew just what she’d done by sending Gray with them.  That silent recrimination had been worse than Jack yelling at her, but Samara could accept it if it meant Gray might, some day, come back to them and not be so very angry and hateful.

Phillip had ushered her out of the Tower and back to his and Clint’s, where he’d plied her with tea and had settled her on the sofa with a warm blanket, even though she wasn’t really in shock.  She’d known exactly what she was doing when she’d called Jasmine.  It had been a risk, and only time would tell if it would pay off, but it was really the only decision she could make.  The moment she’d put together what Jasmine had said, and what the reports had stated about Gary’s mental condition, it had been worth a try. 

Phillip had been impressed.  So had Clint, who must have made it to the Tower just in time to see her summon Jasmine over the security cameras.  Bu then, they hadn’t had the first-hand experience with the Fae that Jack and Ianto had; all they’d had were the old records, and hadn’t been so emotionally invested in what she’d done.

That morning, she’d awakened in her room and had cried.

It wasn’t in sadness; more of a relief that it was finally over, that she wouldn’t have to be scared that she’d wreck Gray more than he’d already been.  It was now in the hands of the Fae, and they would do their best in order to fulfil their debt to Jack and Ianto.  Their Pacts would hold them to that.

“I’m not mad, you know.”

Samara’s breath hitched in her lungs at the sound of her son’s voice.  She craned her neck around, and saw Jack standing there, hands in his pockets, looking tired and forlorn.

At her nod, he took the seat next to her.  Jack didn’t touch her, and Samara waited him out, to see what he would do. 

The silence was comfortable between them, which gave Samara hope that things would be alright.

“Why did you do it, Mom?” he asked plaintively.  “Why would you give Gray to the Fae?”

“You heard what your brother said.  He would either keep trying to escape – and eventually, he would succeed and more would die – or he’d just come out of cryo-sleep angrier than ever.  Or, I could have let Ianto fulfil his Rite of Vengeance, but that would have been so very hard on him…and on you.  I’d made him promise to, and you agreed…but it came down to letting you both live with that decision, and I just couldn’t do it.  I was being selfish in asking.”

“But it was the Fae!” Jack exclaimed.  “I know Ianto told you about them!  You can’t trust them!”

“But I can trust the Pacts,” she pointed out. “And I can trust them wanting to get out from under that debt they owed you both for saving Earth’s children.  That’s why Jasmine was here, you know…she was waiting for you to ask them to discharge that vow.  Now she and the other Fae here were able to go home.”  Samara turned to look at him.  “They were bound to you, Jack.  You and Ianto.  And it was time for you to let them go.”

Jack let out a breath.  “You could have explained before you did it.”

“And have you try to stop me?” She shook her head.  “I couldn’t risk that, Jack.  I’m Gray’s mother; it was my call to make.”

“Are you so sure they can help him?” His voice, normally so strong, was plaintive and sounded so very young. It was a capitulation of sorts, and Samara reached over and took his hand.

“Jasmine seemed to think so, and I honestly don’t think she was lying to me.  She had no real reason to.”

Of course it had come to Samara, as she was lying in bed last night, that Jasmine might _have_ lied in order to get Samara to discharge the debt.  They’d been waiting for so long, after all, and as the Fae had claimed they’d begun to despair that the debt would never be called in. 

But Samara had dismissed it.  It simply wasn’t in the Fae’s best interest to take on a damaged human being and attempt to heal them.  And, if there was one thing she’d learned from Ianto’s stories, was that the Fae always had their own best interests at heart.

“I hadn’t even known that the Fae was here until Ianto told me,” Jack admitted.  “The first thing I wanted to do was get rid of them, but Ianto argued me out of it.  It felt like our new life was being tainted in some way.  I’d thought we’d left them all back on Earth.”

“Something like that you just can’t leave behind.  Especially when there’s that sort of thing binding you together.”  She smiled, dragging his hand into her lap, remembering her wondering why Jack had chosen these particular trees.  Maybe that was the reason; they were bound together, and her son hadn’t realised it.  Perhaps he did, now.  “But they’re gone now.  I doubt you’ll ever see the Fae again.”

“I hope not.” She felt him shiver.  “I’d fully intended never to call in that debt.  I didn’t want a thing to do with the Fae.”  He sighed.  “And now my brother is in the Lost Lands.  It’s not something I’d ever believed would happen.”  Jack squeezed her hand.  “I never would have been able to do it, even if I’d considered it in the first place.”

“There are some decisions you should never have to make, Jamys,” she said, falling back on his birth name.  “This was one of them.”

They sat there in silence for a moment, Samara listening to life going on around them just beyond the borders of the park.  Maybe getting Gray out of cryogenic freeze had been a mistake, but at least Samara had answers now.

And, possibly, one day her younger son might come back to them. 

At least she had hope now.

 

 

_fin_

 

 

 


End file.
